Lead Angel
by Hidden Ink
Summary: Neji and Gaara begin an anonymous correspondence on their desk at school. Romance ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing

--

Chapter One: Lead Angel

--

Two hundred twenty-five days, six hours, forty-three minutes, seventeen seconds left to the end of the school year.

And Neji Hyuuga could not wait. He sighed and looked back at the clock.

Forty-two minutes.

Neji's eyes drifted away from the clock and landed on the teacher, watching him move back and forth across the front of the classroom, lecturing on a formula Neji had already mastered. He let his mind drift as he pretended to pay attention and play the studious teenager.

Normally, Neji did not mind school at all; in fact he had enjoyed it in the past. He loved learning and achieving high grades, a testament to his genius and hard work. For some reason this year, though, it was not the same. He felt…lethargic almost when it came to his work, and he still did it, but not with the gusto and drive he felt before. He hated to admit it, but he had even procrastinated on some projects already. That was almost unheard of for him.

His lack of work ethic could also be attributed to where he had been seated in the class, in both of his Math classes, actually. Both were in the same classroom. How that had happened he still did not know, and both were made of essentially the same people. Neji had different teachers for each, but both had put the class in alphabetical order.

As the strange and eerie coincidences continued, Neji was put in the same seat in both classes, the very back right hand corner. What the Hell were the chances of that happening to anyone but Neji?

Neji knew that sitting in the back should not bother him half as much as it did, but he just could not stand it. At home he was always forced to the back, put behind the heir to the company, Hinata, and he was only born to the company's owner Hiashi's brother, Hizashi.

Neji's father died when Neji was a child, and he was put under the care of his uncle, Hiashi, who led the Hyuuga Corp., a major computer company. His daughter, Hinata, was the heir, but she was totally unsuited for the job, whereas Neji was perfect for it. He had the brains, mind set and demeanor to be the perfect CEO, but at best he would only be vice president.

At home he was always put in the back in the family pictures when there was a reunion; he sat at the end of the table at dinner…

But here in a Math class where he excelled and felt comfortable, he wanted to be in the front, where he deserved to be. And yet he still was not.

Neji knew that he was being melodramatic, but he could not help it. He hated not getting the recognition he deserved, though he grew used to it in a way, after living with it his whole life.

Neji stopped watching the teacher and gave up all pretenses of paying attention. His hand strayed over the desk listlessly. He had thought that Advanced Calculus would challenge him even a little but that was not the case. His hand reached the edge of the faux wood desk when his eye caught a glimpse of something drawn there.

He leaned over and saw that someone from another class had drawn a surprisingly detailed sketch of an angel with tattered wings holding a sword. It was very well done; this person had to be in art classes. The angel was proud, but at the same time, there was a certain sadness to his expression, a loneliness. Neji liked it.

He was surprised he had not seen it before, being in here twice a day. He grabbed his pencil from inside his binder and drew an arrow to the picture. He wrote below it, _Nice sketch. You take Art? _

Normally Neji would not be so inclined to graffiti but seeing as he had nothing better to do and the drawing was well done, he could make an exception this once. He had class here again after Biology, Discreet this time, so maybe the mystery person would have responded and he would not be so bored in that class. Unlikely, but there was a chance.

Neji looked at the clock one more time. Twenty-nine minutes.

He sighed.

--

Gaara walked into his third period class and slumped down in his seat. Data Management, joy of joys. He had cursed this class since the first day of school and he had yet to figure out why he had taken it in the first place. Not only did they learn absolutely nothing, but the people in his class pissed him off to no extent. There was that popular guy, the loud one, that shy girl, some pink haired chick who always called him out on his clothes, and then some others that he could not bother to remember. Those were just the ones he hated the most.

But that was the story for all of Gaara's classes. They were boring and filled with useless assholes. Like he didn't get it enough at home, he needed to be teased mercilessly here too? It wasn't even like he did anything to anyone; he just kept to himself and wore strange clothes. No biggie.

Well, today was not that bad for him—he just had a pair of black jeans, a dark red shirt that matched his hair and high boots. Well, and the accessories, but he could never go without those. Still, nothing he should stand out for.

But still they found ways to get at him, mainly about his tattoo, which they would never let him live down. Seriously, he'd had it for how many years now? It wasn't coming off, get over it.

Gaara sighed and grabbed a book out of his messenger bag. He read until the bell rang only a few minutes later and people began filling in to the class. Why they could never be on time was beyond him. The teacher always had to reduce to yelling at people to get seated so they could start. Waste of time.

Gaara could feel the looks he got from the other students as they noticed him and then lowered themselves from their great pedestals of loveliness to deign to look at him. He just ignored them and, amazingly, got the same in return. Everyone took their seats and he was left alone in the back row in the right hand corner.

The teacher managed to get everyone to shut up and the class began. Gaara kept reading. This teacher had nothing to offer him.

"Sabaku, get rid of the book." Well, there went that. Gaara looked up to find that the teacher had stopped the lesson and everyone was looking back at him. He put the book back in his bag and crossed his arms, looking at the teacher and waiting for him to start again.

"Would you please at least open your notebook and look like you're paying attention?" This teacher really was pathetic. Gaara flipped his notebook to a blank page and sat back once again. The teacher sighed and just returned to the lesson. Everyone eventually stopped caring.

It wasn't like Gaara didn't do his work. He just preferred to learn on his own, not with someone lecturing him. It had worked until now, so he just kept at it. He grabbed a pencil and decided to waste the period by continuing with his angel picture from a couple days before.

He leaned across to the edge of the desk and would have drawn more, but someone had written right in the middle of his canvas. Son of a…how thoughtless could you be? He was obviously going to continue, why would they just cut through?

But then he read what had been written there. _Nice sketch. _No one had ever complimented his work before, not even the Art teachers. They just looked at it and usually made some complaint about how morbid or depressing it was. Or they just ignored it all together. And this person asked him a question. Well, he might as well answer them.

_Yes. _

There, that was enough, now the person would erase it and stop so he could eventually cover the whole desk, for that was his goal for the semester. He started a border that curved around the angel and carried down the right side of the desk. A productive Math class.

--

Well, that's the beginning. Neji and Gaara are going to strike up a correspondence on their desk, and then go from there. The chapters will get longer, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

I am so sorry that this chapter took so fucking long, but it took a while for me to get into it. The next ones will come quicker (I hope). Anyways, this chapter just continues the initial correspondence. The next one will just pretty much be a conversation between the two on the desk. Neji and Gaara will meet sometime in the next few chapters. Oh, and their schedules are underneath if anyone wants to know.

Neji's schedule  
1. Calculus  
2. Phys. Ed  
3. Biology  
4. Discreet  
5. Free period  
6. Lunch with Hinata  
7. Chemistry  
8. English

Gaara's schedule  
1. Phys. Ed (which he hates)  
2. English  
3. Data Management  
4. Art  
5. Introductory Calculus  
6. History  
7. Lunch  
8. Free period  
9. Media Arts

Thanks for reading, and if anyone has plot ideas, just give me a shout! And thanks for all the reviews! I was so stoked!

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately.

--

Chapter Two: The Illustrious Room 208

--

Neji got through second period, Phys. Ed, as one who was born with natural athletic talent. He was no superstar, but could hold his own on a court. Biology passed in much the same way, easily, and by then he had dealt with so many annoying students and teachers he had forgotten about the 'note' that he left on his desk.

Fourth period found Neji back in his Math class, the illustrious Room 208. Second floor, third room from the right, one floor down from his locker, and location of his new, totally exclusive chat room. Which took place on a desk, his desk. The Artist had responded.

Neji had not expected a reply so soon. Or at all, really. But still, there it was. And for some reason, he was glad the mystery person had written back to him. And that… unnerved him.

He sat down at the desk and looked at the new design that had been added to the drawing. An intricate border that curled around the top of the desk and down the right side. It appeared to be vines with flowers and thorns interwoven throughout. Very nicely done. It complemented the angel very well.

The note the Artist left, however, was less satisfactory. _Yes. _That was it? All he had to say was expressed in one syllable? One common, everyday word? Very frustrating to a man like Neji who had quite an extensive vocabulary. Apparently, this Artist was all art.

He sighed and retrieved his homework as the teacher went around checking it. _Homework checks in Grade Twelve? I should have gone to a private school, stupid Hinata. _Had it not been for her…lack of social skills (completely inept, useless, ineffectual, and incompetent according to Neji), he would be at the best school in Japan. Unfortunately, Hiashi had gotten this brilliant idea into his head that going to a public school would further her where she obviously lacked. Needless to say, it had not helped. But Hiashi had high hopes for his defective daughter, and wherever Hinata went, Neji followed like the little lap dog he was.

The teacher came and left without Neji noticing or acknowledging the daily praise for excellent work. He was just waiting for this damn day to be over so he could go home and slip into a blissful oblivion, free of—

"Neji, my genius friend!"

—people like Rock Lee. Of all the irritating, loud, obnoxious—

"Well done on your homework once more! I see that you have scored a five out of five. Alas, I have but a four, but someday, I will achieve a level of greatness that you reach so easily!"

—stupidly devoted people he had to sit next to, it was Rock Lee. Not that he was a bad guy, Neji actually kind of liked him in his quieter moments, except that he was just so freaking loud. And he was hung up on beating Neji in school for some reason, though Neji could never figure out why and was too afraid to ask.

"Hey, Lee," Neji responded in his usual, flat tone.

"Good lord, Lee, give the poor boy a break. You'll pop his bloody ear drums. And you know you'll never beat Neji in Math, he's too good."

And then there was TenTen. Another person devoted, but not to beating him, but to dating him. Had been for years, ever since grade school. Like Lee she would never give up, though she did date people in a poor attempt to make Neji jealous, and she was, perhaps, even more annoying then her friend in green. Luckily she was not next to him, but a few desks away. That would have just been too much.

"Hi, Neji," she said with a hint of a giggle.

"TenTen," he said with a nod.

"Okay, calm down class." Well, the teacher was finished with his frivolities; maybe they would actually learn something now. "Let's get started on the lesson. And Lee, stop crying already! We go through this every day!"

Neji looked at Lee out of the corner of his eye to see the emotional boy crying at TenTen's rejection of his mathematical abilities. Neji quickly looked away and focused on the note. Another reason he did not like sitting next to Lee. _Sigh._

Neji copied the note and the exorbitant amounts of examples that followed, then opened his textbook to make a dent on the homework for the day. He managed to do two questions before the picture distracted him once more. He shook his head and went back to work. Another three questions and he was looking at the drawing again, or rather trying to think up a response to the solitary _Yes. _

Looking over to see that Lee was absorbed in his work (mumbling something about ten minutes or two hundred push-ups) and scribbled a reply onto the desk. Well, not a reply exactly, but rather a new angle since he had no idea what to respond.

_Getting pretty elaborate. _With a nice little arrow pointing to the border. Nothing special, but he did not have much else to say, yet a strange urge to reply. Weird…

He glanced at the clock and then his work. No time to finish now, he would have to do it next period in his spare time.

--

The bell rang and Gaara started, the end of the period catching him by surprise. Sighing, he gathered up the paint brushes and paints he had been using and cleaned them away with practiced ease. The canvas he had been using was put with the others in the corner and he left the class towards the Math hall.

Going from Art to Math was definitely a downer for him. Though, going from Art to anything would be, really. He loved that class with a passion, because it was the only one he actually had some interest in. Sure, Physics was okay, and in English they read some great books, but it was only in Art that he was allowed to create. He got in trouble for sketching in the others.

He stopped at his locker and quickly changed books, exchanging his sketches for a calculator and his pencils for textbook. Packing it all into his bag, he made his way through the crowded hall unnoticed.

He arrived at Room 208 for the second time that day. Two Math classes. You know you are a nerd when... Well, at least he'd managed to nab the same desk for both classes so his sketch was coming along well. And this was the harder of the two (though still relatively easy) so most of the nimrods in his Data class were not in this one.

Gaara was the first to arrive as usual, and as usual he went to his desk in the corner and took out a book. As usual he began to read, but something unusual caught his eye. The jerk that had written him a note left him another one. Again, right in the way.

Gaara just sat there looking at it as the rest of the class filed in. Seriously, who left notes on a desk like this? Really? This guy must be extremely bored and have no friends, and he had to be a math nerd since he was in here twice a day. _Sounds like me. _

Gaara shook his head. This was messing him up. It would be better just to ignore him. Why he had responded in the first place was still a mystery, it had obviously just encouraged the bastard. Whatever, he would just leave it. Writing notes to a complete stranger was idiotic at best.

With that thought he went back to his book and read until the teacher called him on it and he was forced to take notes. After that he occupied himself with the assigned homework and then back to his book as everyone around him talked about what they did that weekend, mainly how drunk they got. Gaara tuned them out. _Idiots._

He was brought back to reality all too soon when he heard his name being called. It was that damn Sakura girl. Seemed like she was going to get her daily dose of pissing off Gaara.

"Hey Gaara, what did you do on the weekend? Have any Satanic rituals to perform, innocent blood to drink?" The people around her all laughed except that one popular guy with the black hair. It really would not bother Gaara so much if they actually used intelligent insults, but they were so boring and over-used.

Regardless, he ignored them like he always did, with the hope that their short attention spans would make them leave him in peace. Today he was not so lucky.

"What, are you sworn to secrecy or something? Come on, I want to know all about it, I promise I won't tell." Well, it looked like offensive attacks were the only way to go today.

"Well," he said, turning the page of his book, "I would believe you, but since we are in a room filled with people listening to what we are saying, it is none too secret, is it? But hey, I'm feeling gracious today; I think I will tell you all my private adventures.

"Well, you got me on the Satanic rituals. Afraid that Friday found me in a graveyard wearing a black cloak and offering up a sacrifice, I believe it was goat that night, to my Lord and Savior Lucifer. Whereupon I cut the inside of my arm and formed a blood bond with the Dark Lord, but you can't see the cut because my gracious Lord was pleased with my work and healed me with his God-like power.

He turned another page in his book and continued, "Then on Saturday, I got together with my Blood of the Innocent Club and we stole some O Negative from the hospital. I believe it was a little boy's who had to go in for a blood test. I saw a bag of yours there too, Sakura, but couldn't use it. Apparently, unfaithful tramps are not innocent. My mistake.

"Sunday was uneventful, just some plotting for a cross burning next month. And now it's Monday and I'm back in school. How was your weekend?"

Gaara continued reading as the class just stared at him after that little spiel. There were a few tense moments in which Gaara imagined some of the new rumors that would now go around about him. Then Gaara heard Sakura turn around with a harsh, "Freak."

"Actually, I prefer the term 'Unearthly' if it's all the same to you."

Another moment of silence and then the class began talking in hushed voices.

Gaara could not concentrate anymore, not with the class so obviously talking about him. He put his book away and looked around aimlessly until his eyes fell on the note once again.

_Getting pretty elaborate. _

This person really knew how to state the obvious. They definitely sounded like someone he would want to confer with. But still…

_Who are you?_

At least, he would not exchange strange notes with a stranger. The bell rang and Gaara left Room 208.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, there's another one done, finally. Again sorry for the wait, this one is nice and long to make up for it. Next chapter should come faster since it's March Break now. Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you all enjoy!

PS there's some calculus in this chapter. Be warned, I have no idea what I am talking about! Math is not my thing, so if I'm wrong, well, I never expected to be right.

PPS there's also some Monty Python, so for all you fans, you're in luck. If you haven't seen the Holy Grail, you really should, it's bloody hilarious, and you won't get the references at the end, so just go with it.

Later!

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Three: Monty Python Reenactments

--

The last bell for the day rang and Neji hurried as much as he could through the crowded halls to his locker. In record time he had his books exchanged and in his bag, locker shut, coat on, and was down the hall. Finally, this day was over.

It had been nothing but hell all day. Math had been utterly boring (with the exception of the notes, of course), they had gotten a long lecture in Gym, taken millions of notes in Biology, and then at lunch he had to sit with defective Hinata and her stupid, annoying, idiotic, monosyllabic, backwards, dull, hyperactive…

_Breathe, Neji, breathe…_

…friends. 

_My life is a Shakespearian tragedy._

Neji met Hinata at her locker. She gave him a shy "hello" and he just nodded his head in return. Really, he had absolutely no idea why she was so afraid of him. It wasn't like he ever did anything. They were friends up until Neji's father died, and then after that they drifted apart and Neji saw no reason to change that.

He stood by impatiently while Hinata slowly gathered her homework, and then led the way down the hall to the parking lot. Waiting for them there was Hiashi's chauffeur. Every day they were taken to and from school in a limo, completely extravagant, wasteful, and utterly embarrassing. Really, none of the other kids had to do this—that Uchiha kid got his own damn car, but Hiashi loved to throw his money around at every opportunity. Just to remind people that his family was better then yours.

Neji ignored the daily exclamations at the limo and climbed in as quickly as possible. Hinata followed him and they had the usual silent ride home, Hinata trying to strike up a conversation every once in a while, Neji just answering in grunts.

They arrived in their neighborhood before too long and Neji eyed the sprawling houses they passed. They were huge, thousands of feet worth of property, four car garages, pillars, balconies, million-dollar lawns, the works. Every one of these houses went for millions of dollars and was a complete waste of money. Neji loved living in luxury, but really, why would someone need a house that had room for fifty people when they had only a family of three?

The limo pulled up to the gate of the Hyuga Mansion, was granted clearance and drove up the seemingly endless driveway. The driver let them out before pulling into one of the garages and disappearing from view. Neji took Hinata's bag for her and walked up to the front door, opening it to let her in first. A butler was there immediately to take their bags and coats, then left to attend to whatever butlers do. Neji had never bothered to figure that out.

Hinata walked away in the direction of the kitchen while Neji took off for his room. He climbed the great curving staircase and went down the West Wing. This house reminded him of a Disney movie he watched as a child, The Beauty and the Beast. He lived in the secret West Wing that Belle could never enter, his own domain.

He'd decorated his gigantic room himself himself; the walls were a deep blue and the furnishings dark oak with a matching oak floor. His bed was a queen size, far too large and comfortable then should be allowed on earth. He had his own bathroom off to the left, a computer, complete with video games he did not play, and plasma screen TV, complete with video games he did not play. Neji always got gifts from random people his uncle worked with on his birthdays, many times video games. But they were left unused for the most part because, well, if there was one thing the Hyuga was not good at, it was gaming. He was terrible, actually.

His favourite part of the room though was the bookshelf. It was huge and covered almost one entire wall. Half of it was his book collection, which he was very proud of, but the other part was the love of his life: his DVD collection. Movies, those were something that the Hyuuga loved, adored, worshipped, watched every chance he could, spent gross amounts of money on…

Some said obsession, he said passion.

Neji went over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of blue shorts and a white shirt. Quickly he changed out of the khakis and polo shirt he had been wearing earlier. Hiashi always made sure they were presentable in public, but at home, he liked to be comfortable.

Neji sighed and looked over at his backpack which one of the maids had brought up. He always found it strange that they were not allowed to carry their own bags upstairs, but then a lot of things were strange in this house. Deciding that he might as well get what little homework he had over with, he grabbed his books from the bag and set up camp on the desk.

It was only twenty minutes later that he was interrupted just as he was finishing. "Come in," he said, putting his movie plans aside for whoever it was.

Hiashi walked in, much to Neji's surprise. His Uncle's gaze swept the room, grimacing slightly at the sight of the mass of movies (he thought they were a waste of time) before landing his nephew. Neji stood and faced the stern man as though a soldier waiting for a command. Which, it turned out, he sort of was.

"Neji, Hinata is having some trouble with her Calculus homework." He frowned a bit at the failure of his daughter (yet again). "You will go help her, she's in her room." And then he left. No please, no thank you, just a request of his little machine. And as much as he hated it, the machine would always obey.

Hinata's room was practically on the other side of the mansion, along with her sister Hanabi's. He had only been in her room a handful of times, each to help with homework, though why she would take Math when she obviously was not great at it was beyond him.

He hated tutoring her. She never understood and asked no questions, just wasted his time.

He arrived at her door and knocked, trying to ignore the blaring music coming from Hanabi's room. Sounded like Beyonce, or maybe that Christina something or other. It all sounded the same to him.

Hinata opened the door and looked almost surprised to see him there. Surely she knew that he would come. He had no choice.

"Uncle Hiashi asked me to help you with Math, Miss Hinata," Neji said simply.

"O-oh. Th-thank you, Neji." She opened the door a little more and Neji stepped through. Her room had not changed since he was last in it, still with lavender walls, matching bedspread, and little collectible figures scattered throughout. It looked like a child's room.

He went over to the desk and took a look at her textbook. _Ah, the 'Squeeze Principle.' _This was a tricky unit; he could see why she would have problems with it. Neji looked over her homework while Hinata waited nervously. He could hear her shifting from foot to foot, a silly habit.

"Here is your problem, Miss Hinata," Neji said, stepping back and pointing to a part of her answer. "You are not paying attention to the limits. In this one, it is +1 to -1, so the third line of your formula would not adhere to this. You have to use a separate formula, the one given at the start of this chapter. That seems to be the only problem with your work, simple enough to fix."

Hinata blushed and nodded her head, stammering a quiet, "Thank you very much, Neji." He nodded and took his leave, heading back to his room.

Before he could get there, however, he was ambushed by the devil herself: Hanabi. She was an absolute terror, completely the opposite of Hinata, loud, boorish, spoiled, and completely full of herself. She seemed to expect the world on a silver platter.

"Neji!" Her shrill voice halted his progress down the hall. "My dear cousin, won't you be a good boy and fetch a girl a coke from the kitchen?" Did she think he was her lap dog or something? Well, not today.

"I'm quite busy at the moment," (well, in the past moment anyway), "Miss Hanabi. Why don't you ask a maid to get one for you?"

"Silly Neji, if I had wanted to ask a maid, wouldn't I have done that already? No, I want _you _to get me a drink." Impudent little bitch, wasn't she?

"I am _busy!_"

"So impolite, cousin!" Hanabi said in mock hurt. "You wouldn't want my father to hear about this rudeness, would you? Help me out and I may forgive you."

_Do it, Neji, there's a nice heavy vase right on the table. Come on, get her, no court would convict you, just do it…_

Neji took a deep breath and forced away the desire to beat his cousin senseless. He laid one hand on her and would find himself on the streets very quickly, family or no. This had to be dealt with another way.

"I apologize, I must have forgotten myself," Neji answered, sounding quite calm. "Let me try that again; fuck off, _Miss _Hanabi. Better?"

Neji turned on his heel and strode off down the hall, Hanabi yelling all the way, only ending when he slammed the door to his room closed. Leaning back against it, he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to resist the desire to break something.

When he calmed down, he opened his eyes and they drifted over to the bookshelf. He looked over the DVDs until his eyes caught one in particular. Yes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He could use some fucking humour right now.

--

Gaara hated the bus.

It smelled with all the students cramped so close together, he always bounced up and down with every bump in the road, it felt like the damn think would flip over at every curve, and was filled to the brim with people who took great delight in torturing him.

Today was all right though. They only threw the occasional wad of paper at the back of his head, though most of the time they missed. The back of the bus was the designated 'cool kids' seating (they'd done that since grade school) so Gaara was always in the front. He didn't really care either way, a seat was a seat.

But today he did not feel like dealing with any shit. He just wanted to go home where he would be left in peace.

It was that damn note guy's fault. All day he had been wondering who it was and why he was corresponding with them. People rarely spoke to Gaara in a friendly way, not that he minded, he avoided it himself. So he neither understood nor welcomed this new 'conversation.'

Yet still, he responded to this mystery person. It was vexing, and really starting to piss him off badly. He just wanted to go home, lie in bed and slip into a peaceful oblivion…

Another paper hit him in the head as the bus finally pulled up to his spot. He was out the door once it opened and down the street before anyone else was off the bus. He walked up to his house and dimly noticed that Temari's car was in the driveway. Wasn't she supposed to be at school?

Gaara lived in a nice house, nothing grand like they had back in Suna, but it was all right. He got his own room, as did Kankurou and Temari, though she was at University now and lived in a dorm, coming home on weekends now and then. Gaara's father made a comfy living as a politician, though what he did exactly Gaara neither knew nor cared.

He opened the front door but didn't close it as he heard Kankurou coming up the walk. Gaara's brother was a year older then him, Temari two. But even though his brother went to the same school as he did, Gaara still never talked to him. He was one of those popular people so he never had time for his loser brother.

Gaara went upstairs and down the hall to his room, ignoring the person in the kitchen, probably Temari. His room was the last one in the hall, strategically chosen so that he was as far away from his father as possible. Not that he ever saw the man anyway.

Gaara's father wasn't abusive, more like negligent. Technically not even that, though. Gaara had never wanted for anything in his life, he had always been taken care of, gotten new toys when he broke the old ones, been well fed, but he never had a father.

His mother died giving birth to him, something his father never forgot or forgave him for. So all his childhood, Gaara was raise by a nanny and Uncle Yashamaru. There were times when he forgot what his father looked like. He ignored him still, in fact even more since Yashamaru died.

Gaara's loving uncle had died in a car crash, trying but failing to kill Gaara in the process. Seemed he'd never forgiven Gaara either.

Ever since then, Gaara had been truly alone. Separated from his siblings since he was born, they grew up in a normal environment, but Gaara had no social skills at all. The kids would never play with him; they were too afraid. He was "that kid with the tattoo" or "the one who never slept" (though that was true…). After being alone for so long he had grown accustomed to it, and in fact welcomed the space that everyone gave him. He preferred to be alone; it kept him safe from those who would try to harm him. Never again would that happen. Yashamaru had taught him many things…

Gaara opened the door to his room and threw his bag on the bed. The previous owner of this house had painted the room a deep red and Gaara'd never gotten around to changing it. His bedspread was just a plain black blanket and sheets, and then there was a dresser, closet, and a desk with a computer and CD player on it. Nothing special, really. He had some posters on the wall of a couple bands he liked, The Beatles, Tool, Jay Chou, Elliot Smith. A nice mix, he listened to pretty much anything.

Books took up nearly all the empty space in his room; piled on the floor, his bed, the dresser, in the dresser, on the computer, everywhere. Half his paycheck went into his book collection, and he worked at the library, so he was signing books out constantly. Being an insomniac had its perks; he read four or five books a week.

Gaara had finished all his homework at school, so all he had to do was wait around until his shift at the library at six. Throwing in a CD he'd burnt, he grabbed his DS and flopped on his bed. Video games (the only thing he adored more than books) would hold him off till then.

Half an hour later, he dimly heard someone coming upstairs above the slow guitar of Elliot Smith. A moment later, someone was knocking at his door. "Enter," he called out, not looking up from his game. He knew it would be Temari.

"Hey, Gaara," Temari's voice called out. Gaara glanced over to her then back to the game. She looked the same as she always did, blonde hair in four ponytails, mini skirt and tank top. She always wore the same things. She seemed just as concerned as always, too. Kankurou did not give a crap, but for some reason Temari always had to know how her little baby brother was doing, she always had to act like she cared. Annoying.

"How's it going?" Same question as last time they talked. He shrugged. "How's the job at the library? Still working there?" Another shrug. "Doing well in school this year?" Commence shrugging.

Temari sighed. She always tried, he would give her that, but it was useless. Gaara just did not care as much as she did, and he had no desire to make small talk.

"Gaara," she said, "will you at least put the game down while I talk to you?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because this entertains me. What you have to talk about does not." People had told him before that he was far too blunt. He never listened.

"Come on, just for a few minutes, then I'll get out of your hair."

"You're not in my hair."

"You know what I mean."

"Apparently not. Why don't you talk while I play? This game system in no way can affect your ability for speech, and I have mastered the talent of multi-tasking, contrary to popular belief."

"Whatever. Will you be here for dinner?'

"No."

"Why not? I don't get to come home very often. I want to talk with my family."

"Busy."

Gaara heard Temari sigh and a moment later the sound of a door closing. She should have known by now that it was no use trying to drag him into conversation when he did not want to talk. Which was most of the time, actually.

He looked back at the game and realized he had just died. _Damn. I hate these fucking zombies. _He started again, this time completely beating the crap out of them.

5:30 rolled around, finding Gaara still playing the game, so close to finishing it. Looking at the clock, he sighed and got up, grabbing a sweater on his way out. He heard his father in the family room watching sports, and the clanging in the kitchen meant Temari was making dinner. As quietly as he could, Gaara left the house and began the walk to the library. He put up his hood and stuffed his hands in his pockets, shivering a little at the unusually cold September air.

In three hours he would be finished work, go home, avoid everyone, and wait until morning to see the response on the desk. Another day gone, another breath wasted, but this time he had something to look forward to.

--

_Who are you?_

Well, what to say to that?

The first thing Neji had done upon entering his Math class that morning had been to check if The Artist had left a note. He had. Now what?

He couldn't very well tell this guy his name; Neji Hyuga simply did not communicate with strangers on a desk. No, he was far too distinguished for that. Impossible.

So what should he write? For some reason he knew that if he did not give this artist a name the Artist would not respond anymore. Neji tapped his pencil on his desk as he tried to think up a response. The teacher passed him, praised him, then started the lesson and Neji could think of nothing to write. Then a thought stuck him rather harshly on the frontal lobe.

A line from The Holy Grail. Strange how often that movie came in handy. Suddenly giddy, Neji wrote underneath the Artist's question in a neat script: _There are those who call me Tim…_

--

_Monty Python and the Holy Grail? This guy actually quotes Monty Python? Well, two can play at that game. _

Gaara paused in his drawing (the border had been extended; now there was someone kneeling in front of the angel, as if worshipping it).

_Can you lead me to the killer rabbit?_

--

Another Python fan! Neji was far too excited to be considered normal at this point.

_Yes, but first I want a shrubbery!_

--

Gaara knew he should stop. This was weird and could not possibly turn out well. He should definitely stop.

_I will never give __IT__ to you!_

--

_No! My eyes, the dreaded word!_

--

_Serves you right, evil knight!_

--

_So cruel, and all I wanted was something to spruce up the home. It's not easy being evil, you know. We bad knights need our luxuries too. _

--

_Just pillage then. That's your job, isn't it?_

--

_What evil knight would ever pillage a village (hey it rhymes) and only take a shrubbery? I have a reputation to uphold!_

--

_Reputation? You're the worst knight I ever heard of! _

_­_--

_Ah, but you have heard of me._

--

_Pirates of the Caribbean. I win. _

--

_Damn, good call. _

--

_Of course it is, I made it. _

--

_Well, someone thinks highly of themselves. _

--

_Just because I'm always right is no reason to get jealous. _

--

This continued on for weeks, until part way through October, when Neji found that they were running out of room on the desk. The Artist had finished his picture, an angel complete with border and genuflecting human, so Neji had been stuck with writing his response in the left corner of the desk in very small writing.

_Why would I be jealous of something I already have?_

Hah, what would the Artist say to that one? That damn mystery guy was a good opponent and always came back with a great response. Neji found himself floundering at times for an answer. Not that any Hyuga floundered, of course.

He was walking to Biology now, having just gotten out of Gym. Just as he was reaching the classroom, however, his teacher stopped him and pulled Neji aside.

"Hyuga, I just got a message from the office. You uncle called to say that you and your cousin have an appointment at the doctor's today. You'll be getting out of this and your next class. The car should be waiting outside for you."

Neji nodded and left in the direction of his locker when the teacher called out again, "Oh, and Hyuga, you have to grab your cousin from her class, too. She should be in—" there was a pause and the rustling of some paper. "She should be in Math right now. Room 208."

--


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, I know, I know, it took forever. Sigh, I just couldn't find time for anything, I've been so busy. Then I had to get my computer fixed up and everything. I was going to write more, but figured it would be better to get a chapter out. The next one will come much faster, believe me.

PS, I did stick another class into Gaara's schedule (my bad) so just cut out Media Arts.

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Four: Captivated

--

Neji grabbed his coat from his locker and threw his books on the shelf. Now, to pick up Hinata from her class. What room was she in? 208. 

Neji set off in the direction of her class, the twice-daily walk familiar. If she was in 208 at this time, then that meant she was in Math. 

Hinata was in…math.

Hinata.Was.In.Math. 

Math. 

Shit. 

Neji stopped and leaned against the lockers, on the verge of hyperventilating. If Hinata was in Math then, that meant that she was in the one Grade 11 Calculus class that semester. That meant that she was in the only Calculus class with the one person that Neji had been dying to meet for weeks.

How could this day have gotten any worse?

_It's okay, calm down, Neji. You're just assuming things, here. He's probably not even in that class. He might not even be in Grade 11. You know, there's been a cold going around, doubtful that he's even at school today. Just walk to the class. Move your feet, there you go, right, left, right, left. __  
_  
Neji set a steady pace down the hall. So what if the Artist was even in that class? It wasn't like he knew who Neji was. All the Hyuga had to do was act nonchalant and nothing would happen. It would work out, it would be fine. Fine.

Sooner then he would have liked, Neji found himself in front of the dreaded class. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his fist to knock…

…and chickened out. For the second time in five minutes, he found himself leaning against a set of lockers, trying to remember how to breathe. 

Why was he freaking out about this so much? It wasn't such a big deal, just opening the door and asking for Hinata. Didn't even need to look around the class; he just had to keep his eyes on the teacher. Simple, right? Yes, Neji Hyuga could do this, no problem. This was nothing for a genius like him. Just act cool.

Once again, Neji took a deep breath, except this time he knocked on the classroom door. He heard a curt "Come in" from the teacher, so he opened the door and walked in.

His eyes betrayed him as they were immediately drawn to the back of the class. He was shocked into silence as he saw the Artist, the one he had been conversing with for weeks. The one he had spent stalker-like amounts of time wondering the identity of, the boy that captivated him, consumed him.

Neji could not form a single coherent thought as he stood there staring at the other boy who was intently focused on writing a note. Writing _Neji_ a note on the desk.

The Artist looked very different then what he had imagined, though Neji found that he liked this version much more. The boy was skinny, almost painfully so, but he did not look sickly. His skin was flawless and pale, almost white, a startling contrast with his black shirt and shock of brilliant red hair that looked sinfully soft in those little spikes. Neji's eyes trailed down his body and he saw the hints of a nicely formed ass, tight fitting blue jeans, and white sneakers.

Almost automatically, his eyes were drawn back to the other boy's face as the Artist looked up and their gazes locked. Suddenly Neji found himself drowning in a sea of the most beautiful shade of green imaginable. He could not have looked away even if he had wanted to. The Artist was frowning at him, as though annoyed by his attention, but that looked so utterly adorable that Neji had to restrain himself from jumping the poor boy at that moment.

"U-um N-Neji…"

The Hyuga started as he was forcefully brought back to reality by his cousin's soft voice. Their momentary connection broken, the Artist looked back down at his desk.

Feeling slightly disoriented, Neji looked at his cousin who was giving him a strange look. Looking around, he found that the rest of her class and the teacher were all looking at him as if waiting for him to do something. Ah, they were.

He cleared his throat which had somehow become quite dry as he remembered why he was there. Handing a note to the teacher he said simply, "Miss Hinata has a doctor's appointment and is to be excused from this class."

The teacher nodded and took the note, still looking at Neji suspiciously. "Hinata, you may go."

Neji risked one more glance at the Artist as Hinata gathered her things. The boy just kept his head down, and Neji was forced to look away when Hinata started nudging him out the door. He lingered another moment, suddenly dreading to leave the class he had not wanted to enter. 

--

_What the Hell was his problem?_

Gaara looked back down at the desk as the other kid looked away to the quiet Hyuga. He scowled as he looked at the half-finished note on the desk. That stupid kid made him forget what he was going to write. Jerk.

Why was he watching him, though? Why would Hyuga Neji, the child prodigy of Hyuga Corp., be staring at Gaara as though the redhead was an oasis in the desert? To be honest, Gaara had been a little unnerved by the piercing stare he had been under. The famous 'Hyuga eyes' which easily identified every person in that family never sat well with him. Gaara knew that he was not one to talk, many people had commented in the past about his brilliant green eyes that could apparently 'steal the soul right from you.' But these eyes were different; it was almost like…like he _could _actually see into Gaara. Like he could see his thoughts and read his mind. Like he knew exactly what Gaara was thinking, feeling. Such an intense gaze…

Gaara shook his head and tried to clear his mind. Now he was just being stupid. How the Hell could a Hyuga see into his soul? The mere idea was ludicrous. _I really have to stop listening to all the gossip, no matter how funny it is. _

In an effort to get the creepy Hyuga out of his head, Gaara turned his attention to the teacher in the front, pointing out everything wrong about her. Really, that blouse…

--

Hyuga Neji sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair, staring unblinkingly at a blank wall.

It was not the wall he was really looking at, however, but at a pair of brilliant green eyes that were framed ever so delicately by the softest red hair he had ever seen. He wanted to run his fingers through it, find out how soft it really was, while his lips were busy on his pale neck…

_No, no, stop that right now! Mind out of the gutter, you little pervert. _

Neji tried but failed to distract himself from the redhead while he waited for Hinata to finish up her appointment, and so resigned himself to reflecting on his not-so-mysterious mystery person for now.

He had been a little surprised by his reaction to the other boy. Neji had known he was a flaming homosexual for several years (with the amount of time he spent on his hair?) but he had never reacted so strongly to someone before. Really, besides the odd make-out-in-an-empty-room-during-one-of-his-uncle's-parties, he had never really been physical with anyone. Hell, he was hardly even attracted to anyone and his sex drive was almost zero, but this guy…for some reason, Neji wanted him. Period.

From the look of the Artist (he didn't even know his name yet), he was not a very social person considering he was sitting all alone in the corner. But still, Neji might find some way to make friends with him, get to know him outside of a desk conversation. But how could he do it?

Several moments went by until Neji gained inspiration from the wall. Yes, the plan was perfect, the Artist would meet him and then he would have to acknowledge him outside of the desk. Tomorrow he would put his plan into action.

--

Neji sat in Discreet not looking at the clock every thirty seconds, not bouncing up and down in anticipation, and not totally ignoring the world around him in favour of thinking of what he would say to the Artist. He was fine. Perfectly fine.

Sneaking another look at the clock that now read fourteen minutes to the end of class instead of fifteen, he forced himself to calm down. There was still time before he would see the Artist and it would do no good for him to be too nervous to speak when he arrived. Deep even breaths, that was the key.

Looking for a way to waste time before The Meeting, Neji began to wonder why he wanted to meet the Artist so desperately. It wasn't like he needed any more friends. Everyone in Japan knew his name, people he had never heard of sent him birthday presents each year, girls at school threw themselves at his feet, begging him to date them.

But at the same time, all those people cared about was his name. Hyuga. The name that was both a curse and gift. His name entitled him to heaps of respect, royalties, and fame. He could basically get anything he wanted, there were no boundaries. And yet, anyone who ever paid attention to him only did so _because _of his name. Men and women sucked up to his uncle through him, they bought him those presents because they knew that he would one day be their boss, and they wanted a head start. They looked to him for any kind of leverage that they could get, and they would do anything for it.

The only person that this rule did not apply to, really, was Lee. But that relationship was different. He could not have a regular friendship with the boy who always set out to beat him at everything. No, they were close, but that would never be anything more then a friendly rivalry.

But this Artist, he seemed different. Whenever Neji walked into a room, his mere presence commanded respect. People always noticed that he was there. The girls looked on in admiration, and the boys in jealousy. Neji was always in the limelight.

Except for the Artist. He just kept working when everyone else had stopped. He only noticed Neji was in the room after the Hyuga had been staring at the top of his head for minutes. And when he did see him, there was no respect in his eyes, no admiration, only apathy. Neji had never seen that before. Even the brat Uchiha paid him some respect. The Artist gave him nothing.

That intrigued Neji. He wanted to know more about the boy that held no emotion in his eyes, who looked as though he felt nothing. He had seen anger, sadness, happiness, fury, even hatred directed at him, but never this emptiness. With morbid curiosity, Neji wanted to explore that emptiness, and see what those brilliant green eyes looked like happy.

--

The bell rang, snapping Neji out of his thoughts. He sat in his seat for a moment, confused. The end of class meant something, but what was it? He had forgotten while daydreaming about the Artist. The end of class meant…meant…

Ah yes! The plan!

Neji began to leisurely gather his books and pens. His next class was lunch so it would not matter how long he took here. But if his assumptions were correct, then the Artist had a Math class this period, which meant he would be coming into that very room any moment. Now, all Neji had to do was delay until he showed up.

"Mr. Hyuga, is there something that I could help you with?" The teacher's voice called out to him from the front of the class, giving him a perfect out.

"Yes, there is, actually." Neji said in his 'respectful voice.' "I was just wondering if you could help me with one little thing from the lesson today."

The teacher looked surprised at first, probably at the fact that Hyuga Neji was asking for help, but then she moved to the back of the class to help him.

Opening his notebook to the note that he completely understood, Neji began asking her questions about calculating the angles in one of the examples they were given. For a few minutes, she explained it to him until they were interrupted by someone from the next class coming in.

"You're in my seat."

The cold voice ended the conversation between teacher and student. Looking up, Neji saw the one and only Artist standing impatiently a few feet away.

"Hyuga, your class is over. Take your business elsewhere."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Hyuga, we really should get going, the next class will come in soon. I will see you tomorrow."

The teacher left, but Neji paid her no attention. He was too focused on the boy in front of him, desperately trying to remember what he had planned on telling him. While Neji fumbled with his memory, the Artist only got more impatient.

"And here I thought that Hyugas were supposed to be the smart ones. Move your shit."

The Artist's cold tone broke through Neji's thoughts once again. Startled, he gathered his things together but did not move from the desk. Instead he asked the other boy a question,

"What's your name?"

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. Couldn't you think of something else, anything else? How lame was that? Real smooth, Hyuga. _

The Artist looked at Neji as though confused for a moment before schooling his face into a glare. "I don't see why my name would mean anything to you. Now, I am not in the mood to deal with incompetent morons who seem unable to understand basic English, so run along and go earn another couple million dollars, would you? I'm sure the Mexicans you're paying twenty-five cents an hour will really appreciate it."

Maybe 'somewhat unsocial' was a bit of an understatement. But damn, he was cute when he was angry. His eyes got even darker and his forehead bunched just a little bit in the middle, making it look like he was almost pouting. When he folded his arms just so…

Neji shook his head, trying to stop ogling the boy in front of him. What he had to do right now was find out his name, nothing more. He could imagine him pouting later.

Neji was about to ask the Artist once more when he saw students coming through the door out of the corner of his eye. He sighed, and with one last look at the Artist (who looked like he was going to rip Neji's head off any second) he gathered up his books and walked to the door.

_Okay, first meeting, not so good. Just wait 'till next time, I'll bug the Hell out of you until you talk to me… _


	5. Chapter 5

YES! Another chapter! And this one is nice and long. Man, I was on a role and just tanked this beast. Sweet.

Um, there's a mention of a guy named Miyavi in this chapter. In case you don't know, he's a Japanese Visual Kei rocker, and he's bloody amazing. One of the best guitarists you'll ever see. Look him up, you won't be sorry.

So have fun with this chapter thank you so much for not giving up on my story, and yeah, I'll have the next one up soon hopefully!

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Five: The Little Annoyances

--

Gaara was sulking. One could even go so far as to say he was pouting, protruding bottom lip and all. He was reduced to sitting in the corner running his finger listlessly over the desk where he and that…that…prick once had their conversation.

Gaara was not one to deceive himself. He knew that he enjoyed the 'talks' he had with his desk buddy. It was witty, funny (sometimes downright hilarious), and just…normal. Gaara was never one to have casual conversations with anyone. The only talking he did was forced and unpleasant. He was just not a people person. But when he wrote on the desk…maybe it was just the impersonal part, he never had to see the other person or know their name. Or maybe it was what they talked about, but for some reason he could easily communicate with this guy. It was almost natural.

Gaara sighed. Well, now that was over. The Hyuga kid saw him, found out that he was talking with the freak of the school. If he cared at all for his social standing in the school (and as a Hyuga he most definitely did) then he would never talk to Gaara again. Even the redhead knew that was social suicide, though normally he did not care. People ignored him and spread rumors like wildfire, but that did not matter. They were just nameless ignorant beings that he had no desire to get to know or associate with in any way. He preferred to be alone.

Yet when faced with the prospect of no more notes in Math, that seemed to matter. Gaara felt something that he never did before, he felt…sad. He was sad that the Hyuga would ignore him now, sad that he would not be quoting Monty Python on a desk. Or that he would no longer have something to look forward to when coming to school.

Why did the Hyuga have to see him? Why? Gaara looked at all the notes that were scattered along the desk. They were just a waste of time now.

--

Neji sat in the louder-then-anything-should-be-cafeteria next to Hinata and the louder-then-anyone-should-be-person Naruto. The combination was enough to make him contemplate suicide daily.

Thankfully today he was busy staring into space thinking about his plans to snag a certain redhead into his trap. He'd spent his entire free period in the library doing the same thing until Hinata found him and dragged him down to sit with her little friends for lunch.

At the 'request' of his uncle, Neji sat with Hinata every day at lunch so that he could keep an eye on her and make sure she did not get lonely. Of course, that meant that he was forced to sit with the most annoying people he had ever met. The only person he had a semblance of tolerance for at that table was the kid with the ponytail, and that was only because he was always sleeping and never said much. The blonde one gave him a headache, the doggy one never stopped arguing and smelt funny, Lee was…Lee, and the bug kid just plain creeped him out. The others were there, but not important enough to grab his attention.

Dragging his mind away from the little midgets and their discussions of Hinata's birthday party, he drifted back to the Artist. Even with the rude way he had acted, Neji still felt drawn to him. There was just something about him…maybe it was the way that he never seemed impressed by Neji when the rest of the world cared about seemingly every detail of his life. Or maybe it was his eyes…

As Neji's mind wandered, so did his eyes. Without seeing, he surveyed everyone in the cafeteria. He drifted table over table, passed group after group. The cool kids, the really cool kids, the girls flocking over Uchiha, the guys flocking over the girls flocking over the Uchiha, the jocks, the nerds, the loners that ignored each other but drifted to the table anyway, and all the others. Everyone belonged to a group. Everyone except some kid at his own table.

He was sitting all by himself at the end of a table across the caf. Somewhat dazedly, he examined the way he ate, just looking at the table in front of him, nowhere else. Occasionally the kid would add something to the notebook in front of him, but that was about it, except for sometimes brushing his red hair out of his eyes. From that angle, Neji could see his green eyes intently focused on what he was doing.

_Wait green eyes…red hair…that sounds familiar…_

Neji snapped out of his dazed state. There was the Artist, sitting only a cafeteria away! How had Neji never noticed him before? In the entire cafeteria, he was the one who stood out the most, sitting by himself amidst the mob.

Well, whether he saw him before or not, this was his chance to get his name, and maybe a sentence that did not involve an insult out of him. Neji turned to Hinata on his left, "Excuse me for a moment, Miss Hinata, I have something to attend to."

"O-oh…sure, Neji."

Giving her a quick nod, Neji ignored the blonde one's loud questions about his destination and made a beeline for the redhead. The Artist still had his head down looking at some sort of notebook while eating a sandwich. He never saw him coming.

Neji dropped down into the chair across from the Artist who looked up at him for a moment as if surprised to see him. That quickly changed though, as his expression turned into a glare. He did not say anything, just looked across at Neji, glaring while chewing slowly on a piece of sandwich. It was too cute.

"Hey," Neji said, trying not to laugh at the face the Artist was making. "Thought we could finish the conversation we started after Math. I felt that right as we were about to pass the insulting stage, we got interrupted. So, how about we skip right to you telling me your name?"

The Artist still said nothing. He merely swallowed his bite and continued to glare at the Hyuga. The look that was funny a second ago began to make him nervous, so Neji cleared his throat and forced more conversation. "Okay, well, since you're not going to tell me your name, I'll just have to start guessing. Let's see, John? No…Mark? Stan? Lee? Mike? Oh, wait, I've got it, Deramethos? Nope, that's close, but not quite…Shirley?"

"What the Hell are you talking about?'

Neji pretended to be surprised by jumping out of his seat with a shocked look on his face. "Oh my God, it talks!"

The Artist did not look amused. His glare merely intensified and Neji gave a nervous laugh. "Heh, heh…look, just tell me your name all right? If you do, I promise I'll leave."

The Artist glared at him for a few moments before he looked away, reading what he had written in the notebook. "I don't see why you want to hear it from me. Ask anyone in this room and I'm sure they'll be able to give you a detailed description about my life."

"What?" Now Neji was confused. "What do you mean?"

The Artist looked up to glare at him again. "Oh come on, even you are not so stupid. Everyone in this school knows at least one rumor that went around about me. Unless you live in a hole in the ground, then you should know some too."

"Look, I have no idea who you are, okay? I've never even seen you before today. And when it comes to gossip, well, I might as well live in a hole in the ground."

"If you really want to know who I am, then go ask the loud pink one," the Artist said, nodding to a table behind Neji.

The Hyuga turned to look at it and saw that it was the 'fawn over Uchiha' table. Right in the middle of the girl cluster, he saw some blonde girl arguing with a pink haired chick. The pink one turned aside in a huff and Neji caught sight of her face. She seemed vaguely familiar, but who was she…?

"Haruno….Haruno… Sakura," Neji mumbled when the name finally came to him. "Why the Hell would I want to talk to her?" The Hyuga asked, turning back to the Artist who was back to reading the notebook.

"Because," he said without ever looking up, "she fancies herself quite an expert on me and knows all my evil doings. Now go bug her and leave me alone."

"Oh no, you couldn't pay me to even stand near her," Neji said, shuddering at the very idea.

"Well," the Artist said, closing the notebook, putting it in his messenger bag and standing up, "it seems that you are not completely hopeless after all. Good bye."

Neji sat in shock for a moment at the abrupt departure, but then hurried to follow the redhead out of the caf. "Hey," he said, calling after the redhead. The boy didn't stop so Neji pursued at a fast walk. He may have wanted to talk to the guy, but he also had a reputation to uphold here.

"Hopeless?" Neji asked him when he caught up. "What did you mean by not _completely _hopeless?"

"Simple," the Artist said with no break in stride, "before I thought that you were a lost cause, a dunce, moron, write off, what have you. But seeing as you will not associate with the pink one, then you cannot be a _complete_ moron. Questioned answered, leave."

"You don't like me much, do you?"

The Artist suddenly stopped mid-stride. Whirling on Neji, he nearly shouted, "Oh, what could have given you that idea? Excellent deduction, Watson! No, I don't like you at all, and yet you still persist in following me! Why?! Does it bug you that you cannot get your way for once in your life? Does the poor little rich buy need to be consoled? Well you can just fuck off because I don't need or want to hang around with someone like you!

"We wrote notes on a desk, man! Get over it. I never even knew who you were until today; you were just a nameless being that entertained me for a whole five minutes. Wow, you should be proud of yourself. I would have been fine just leaving it at that, nameless note writing. The year would have ended, I wouldn't have died from boredom, and then would have moved on with my life, forgotten all about it.

"But no, you had to ruin it. And now you feel it necessary to pry into every aspect of my life, or try to anyways. I don't want to be your friend, I don't want to talk to you, and pretty soon you won't want to talk to me either. I'm even doing you a fucking favor here man, leave me alone!"

Neji couldn't have fallowed him if he'd wanted to. The best he could do was stand in the middle of the hall with a stupid look on his face.

_Doing me a favor? What the Hell was he talking about?_

--

Gaara lay on his bed looking at the ceiling, thinking of a certain Hyuga. Or rather, his death, which was very imminent.

It was strange, though. Normally Gaara was much more level-headed; he hardly lost his cool over anything. But for some reason, this Hyuga just crawled under his skin and made him freak. Still, even he had not expected the explosion earlier.

_There was really no reason for it…_

Gaara sighed. He had come to the conclusion that the Hyuga was indeed innocently ignorant in this. He did not know who Gaara was, strangely enough. So being the fool that for some reason he insisted being lately, he tried to hide his name. If the Hyuga never found out then they could keep 'talking' like before. He would not be disgusted to know him, or to see him. He would keep respecting him and Gaara did not want to lose the one person who did.

He would be bound to find out another way, though. The Hyuga looked to be determined if the way he followed Gaara around constantly was any clue. In the end he might just go to his little cousin for the information. And then he would think that Gaara was a coward for not being able to tell him himself. And that would just not do.

Gaara was about to give up thinking about this when he heard his name being bellowed from downstairs. _Kankurou, it can be ignored. _

A few moments later there was another below, but this time it was his father. _Oh, can't ignore that. _

Slowly he walked downstairs to find Kankurou watching TV in the living room and his father in the kitchen, something clenched in his fist. Gaara stood in the door to the kitchen and folded his arms, waiting for his father to yell. It was all he ever did when they talked.

"This!'" His father said, even less articulate then normal. He raised his fist which had a crumpled piece of paper in it. Gaara recognized the lavender colour, but decided to play with his father a bit.

"Paper?" He asked almost-innocently.

"No, what's on it, you little shit! The Hyuga kid's party!"

"I received the invitation today. It did not interest me. I threw it out." Gaara had actually found it in his locker. Apparently the shy one was not as brave as her cousin. "Glad I could explain that for you." Gaara deadpanned. He turned to leave the kitchen, but his father's next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You're going."

"Excuse me?" He asked quietly, turning around.

"You're going to the little brat's birthday party."

"No."

"Look, you have no say in the matter! You're going if I have to carry you there myself!"

"I would love to see you try. You do realize that would involve touching me right?"

Gaara's father moved back a miniscule step and grimaced at the thought. He had not touched Gaara or come closer then absolutely necessary in living memory. As if he could deny his existence that way.

"Well, you'll get there somehow! Hyuga Hiashi is one of my campaign sponsors so he'll expect someone there!"

"So send Temari. She likes these things."

"She's in university, you little twit."

"Then Kankurou."

"He wasn't invited. You were. Why, I have no idea, but you were. So you'll show up give her a gift that _Temari _will pick out and stand in a corner somewhere. Smile if someone looks at you, eat the cake and then leave. Surely even you can do that."

That was it, Gaara was doomed. If his father was willing to talk to him this long then he had no chance. So he opted for a silent glare which his father took as acquiescence.

"Good. It's this Saturday, so get a new shirt."

His father turned to the fridge for a beer and Gaara took this chance to leave. Putting up with his beloved father always put him in a bad mood. Gaara went back into his room and selected the most violent video game he owned. He needed to let off some steam.

--

Gaara didn't sleep that night, though it was not a strange occurrence. His alarm went off at seven and he slipped into the shower before Kankurou could grab it. Finishing as Kankurou woke up he went into his room and stared at his closet. An array of clothes looked back at him. Today he went for nondescript black shoes, black jeans that were a bit baggy but not much, a red shirt that matched his hair, and a black Miyavi zip-up sweater.

Gaara dawdled in his room for another half hour before he grabbed his shoulder bag, a cereal bar from the kitchen and went out to the bus stop. The ride consisted of him ignoring the people behind him and trying not to freak out. He had to try hard. Very hard.

When he finally got to school, he dropped off his things in his locker and went straight to his first class: Phys. Ed.

He changed before anyone else was there. Gaara was not very large and did not want to have to deal with comments on how skinny he was. Like it was his fault he had a fast metabolism.

Gaara decided to wait in the gym on the bleachers. It wasn't long before he was joined by the rest of the class. The bell rang and five minutes later they were interrupted as usual by the Uzumaki kid coming in late. It happened every day without fail. There was a bit of yelling on his part, something about the Uchiha. Then the class actually started. Oh, what Gaara would do for a firing squad.

They were playing basketball in gym at the time. Why, Gaara had no idea. It really served no purpose and Gaara thought it was a stupid game. Though that could have just been because he was terrible at it.

The little redhead was just not a sports person. He could beat anyone at Madden, but put him in a _real _game and he was totally lost. Even the lazy kid was better then him. His lack of talent did not exactly help his reputation, either.

So he muddled through the stupid game and nearly ran out of the gym when the bell rang. Changing at lightning speed, he was out of there before most of the class was in.

Gaara took his time going to his next class. English was another one he had with Haruno and he really did not want to see her today. Even so, he got there before anyone else and grabbed his book out of his bag to read until class.

Slowly people trickled in until the bell when there was a mad rush and then yet another class began. Gaara was lucky today, the lecture took the whole period and he understood it perfectly, so there was no hassle from the pink one today.

Gaara made it to his next class, Math with a few minutes to spare. Once again, he read until the bell, diligently ignoring the new note on the desk that was glaring him in the face. He made it through the homework take-up and then the lecture before he had to look.

The teacher was writing out their homework assignment on the board. Overwhelmed with curiosity as to whether the Hyuga hated him or not, Gaara looked down to the corner of the desk. The neat penciled writing looked back at him: _Don't think that I've given up yet, big nose. _

Gaara could not help but smile slightly. So the Hyuga did not hate him for his little outburst. For some reason, that made Gaara happy. He was so lost in this rarely felt emotion that he did not realize his own traitorous hand had drifted to his pencil. It took him a moment to notice that his own hand had written a new note on the desk.

_Gaara. _

That was it. And there would be no time for more or less as the bell rang that moment. Gaara sighed as he gathered his things.

_It was fun while it lasted…_

--

Neji slumped down in his seat in Discreet. His day had just been Hell. Tons and tons of homework to do, annoying people to deal with, boring lectures, nothing had gone right. On top of that, he did not get a lot of sleep the night before and his hair was all over the place. The day was not cooperating.

He had his head bent so low it almost hit the desk when he noticed something in the corner. A note from the Artist! So he didn't hate Neji after all! It was so small he could barely read it, but it was there.

_Gaara. _

Gaara. Neji sighed. He finally knew his name. It rang some bells somewhere in the back of his mind, but Neji ignored it. Happiness washed over him and he became strangely giddy. He only knew his name, but the guy, Gaara, was finally opening up. Neji almost began giggling right there, but then remembered where he was. Holding it in but barely, he reached for his pencil.

_Hi, Gaara. I'm Neji, nice to meet you. _


	6. Chapter 6

Wow, another chapter. That was fast, hope you guys are happy. This one is okay, it's mainly just about the party and I don't really like the ending, but it'll do for now. I can see some Gaara loving in the near future, so buckle your seat belts, kiddies!

PS, there is some mention of video games in this chapter. Please, just remember that I know nothing about any games, so don't criticize, please! I just picked one of my bro's games!

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Six: Gamers Extraordinaire

--

At the sound of girl's voices, one in particular, Neji jumped back from the doorway and out of sight. They had infiltrated the kitchen.

After school Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino had followed Hinata home to help finalize Saturday's party. Neji had been hiding in his room since then which was not too bad, but hunger had driven him out. Last time Neji checked, they had camped out in the study. Damn, he thought he would be safe here.

Listening to them talk, Neji knew that they were just using Hinata's birthday as an excuse to throw a huge party. That girl really had to learn to stand up for herself. Their whole year was invited, and Neji knew that Hinata hated large gatherings. But since she was such a pushover, Neji would end up hiding in his room all night just like last year.

Neji sighed. Now what? He really did not want to go in there and be subjected to their fan girl craziness that he dealt with at school, but he was damn hungry. Maybe he could run and make a grab at the cupboard. Or maybe they wouldn't notice him if he went in. yeah right, he puts one foot in there and he's a goner. Hmmm, just how hungry was he? Was it worth dealing with their insanity?

Neji was about to give up and go raid the candy stash in Hinabi's room when he heard Sakura mention something that caught his interest.

'Uh, Gaara's on the list? Um, Why?'

Neji inched closer to the door. What were they saying about Gaara? Why would it be bad that he was invited?

"U-um, m-my father said to, to invite him…'

'And you actually did? Gross, I hope he doesn't come. He'll ruin the whole thing.' Ino? What did she have against Gaara?

'Yeah,' Sakura said, laughing, 'he'll probably give you like a crystallized fetus or something for a present!'

Neji heard Ino and Sakura burst out laughing and Hinata giggling softly. _A fetus? What the hell?_

'Oh, oh, you know what I heard?' Ino said excitedly when she stopped laughing, 'I heard that you know that bar he always goes to? The one in what's-it-called where that Kabuto guy lives? Well, I heard that Gaara was there on the weekend and this guy was giving him a hard time and then Gaara just snapped. He went crazy and beat the shit out of the guy. His dad had to get him from jail the next morning. Paid off a bunch of cops.'

'Oh, seriously?' Sakura asked in disbelief.

'Yeah, heard it straight from Kiba.'

'Oh, what does that dog boy know?' Sakura said, laughing that annoying laugh again.

'Y-yes,' Hinata said, surprising Neji, 'I-I don't think that's t-true, Ino…'

'No, it totally is. Kiba's friends with his brother Kan-something-or-other.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Sakura said, 'we all know someone in Gaara's family. Whatever, I just hope the little freak show doesn't show up.'

After that they started talking about the party again and Neji drowned them out. He stayed there against the wall for another moment before slowly heading back to his room. so that's who he was. Gaara. He was the one everyone spread rumors about, the supposed Satanist and all that. Neji made it to his room and lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. _That's what he meant by a favor. _Neji knew that associating with Gaara was a 'social suicide'. As far as he knew, no one liked Gaara and the guy had no friends.

Why didn't he remember before? Neji had heard people mention the name Gaara several times, and now he remembered them all, how could he not before? Oh well, it's not like it bugged Neji that was him. he knew that all the rumors were untrue, most were just plain ridiculous. If anything, this just made him want to get to know him more, get to see who the real Gaara is. Not the one everyone knew, behind all the lies and stories. Just Gaara.

--

The rest of the week Neji saw neither hide nor hair of his little red head. It was like he disappeared off the face of the earth. Of course, this started even more rumors, which Neji now listened to but still did not believe.

Part way through the week, Neji asked Hinata what she knew about Gaara. She recounted all the rumors she knew, which were quite a few, and told him that she had never actually talked to him face to face. He was quiet in class and never said anything to anybody, just stayed to his own business.

So basically, Neji learned absolutely nothing. He spent the week waiting for Saturday, wondering if Gaara would actually show up to the party. And if he did, what would Neji do? Would he talk to him, or would Gaara ignore him? Neji seriously doubted that Gaara would even acknowledge his presence, but still, Neji could not wait.

--

At seven on Saturday people began showing up. By eight everyone on the list was there and they were spread through the house. Everyone but Gaara.

Neji had set up camp on a couch on the living room. From there he could hear the door over the loud music blaring through the house, and it was the room least populated with tipsy teenagers. So Neji sat there, waiting.

By eight-thirty he had pretty much given up on Gaara. That was it, if he did not show up know, then he knew he never would. Another fifteen minutes. Fifteen more, then he would go upstairs.

Twenty minutes later, Neji sighed and stood up from the couch. Weaving his way through the people in the hall, he made his way to the stairs. Again weaving, Neji began the trek up the grand staircase. A few times he had to jump out of the way of flying booze, but eventually made it to the top. There were less people upstairs per his uncle's wishes, so Neji made it to his room alright.

He got in and shut the door, effectively cutting off most of the blaring music. Now it was just a dull throb that went to the beat of his pounding head. Trying to ignore it, Neji was just about to pick out a movie when there was a knock at his door.

In quite a bad mood by then, Neji stalked over to the door and wrenched it open to find his uncle looking down at him.

'Neji,' he said. Neji could swear that one of his eyes were twitching to the beat of My Chemical Romance. 'Would you go downstairs and tell your cousin that there is to be _no one _besides family up here?'

Hiashi walked down the hall muttering something to himself about priceless paintings and stupid reckless teenagers. Neji sighed, not even bothering to wonder how his uncle had known he would be up there and went to find Hinata. It took some time, but eventually he was able to locate her talking to Naruto in the kitchen. Well, Naruto was talking and gesticulating wildly while Hinata just blushed and nodded along.

Walking over to her, Neji whispered his uncle's instructions in her ear. Her eyes went wide at the thought of what her friends could have done and she rushed off to do whatever she could about it.

Job completed, Neji was once more going to find solace in his room, but as he was walking through the hall he passed the television room and looked in to see what they were watching. It was some sort of comedy that had the whole room laughing uproariously except for one person, a red head casually leaning on the wall.

As soon as he saw him, Neji made a beeline for the red head. Gaara was standing by himself, dressed in a blood red undershirt with a plain black shirt on top and dark blue jeans. With the pissed off look on his face, Neji could not help but notice how great he looked. Neji felt almost giddy as he made his way over.

'So, you like movies, Gaara?' Neji asked, mimicking Gaara's pose against the wall with his arms across his chest.

'Not this one,' Gaara said, eyes never leaving the screen.

'Didn't think that you were going to show up.' Neji said making a stab at conversation.

'Neither did I.'

_Well, he knows how to keep it short. _'So where were you all this week? I had absolutely nothing to do all math.'

'I was sick. Flu.' Gaara said, finally looking Neji in the eye. He turned and peered at him as if trying to figure out a complex puzzle.

'What?' Neji asked, trying to stay focused. The way they were standing, facing each other while leaning on the wall meant they were very close, almost touching, and Neji had to force himself not to close the gap.

'Why are you talking to me?' Gaara asked.

'What d'you mean? Why wouldn't I talk to you?'

'Well, now that you know who I am, you probably know all the 'tales' of my life, right? So, why are you talking to the school's number one Satanist?'

'Satanist? I heard that you actually worshipped aliens. They abducted you once, didn't they?'

'Oh, yes. We had a great time cruising the cosmos on their intergalactic space ship. Then I reported to their commander and told them all the earth's secrets. Helped them start Hurricane Katrina, actually.'

'Oh, that was you. I should have known. I could have sworn that one was started by Santa Claus.'

'No, he's all political, I'm afraid. The only one who really deals with the environmental stuff is the Easter Bunny.'

'Oh, my mistake.'

Gaara smirked a little. But he quickly lost it as he once again got serious. 'Seriously, though. Why? Social suicide and all that. Even the Uzumaki kid doesn't talk to me. I mean, people are already noticing.'

Neji looked around. There were in fact, some people who were pretending that they were not watching them and then some who were watching outright. As if it was some sort of miracle someone was talking to Gaara. Others were whispering to each other and watching with awe written all over their faces. Well, the conversation would have to move to somewhere more comfortable then.

'Neji waved his hand in the direction of the onlookers. 'Nah,' he said with a false confidence, 'they're just jealous that you're talking to the one and only Hyuga Neji, child genius. They'll get over it.'

He gave Gaara a large toothy smile who only shook his head at him. 'So,' Neji continued, 'should we go somewhere else, then? I know a place where we could watch some good movies.'

Gaara hesitated a moment and Neji tried to pretend that he was not anxious. He had to forcibly stop himself from shifting from foot to foot. Gaara took one last look at the screen then turned back to Neji and nodded his head, 'If it means getting away from this.'

'Alright then,' Neji said, trying to remember how to breathe, 'let's go, shall we?'

Neji turned and began to make his way through the people and towards the stairs. Looking back to see that the red head was in fact still with him, he began to weave up the stairs. When they got to the second floor, Neji quickly checked to see that his uncle was not poking his head out and led Gaara down the hall to his room.

When they made it down the hall successfully, Neji swiftly opened the door and ushered Gaara in, then going in behind. Closing the door, Neji said, 'Sorry, my uncle's a bit anal about having people up here,' only to turn and find the red head not listening to him at all. Gaara was slowly drifting to Neji's bookshelf in a trance-like state. 'Uh, Gaara?' Neji asked, only a little freaked out.

'Soul Caliber,' the red head said quietly. He reached for the shelf and took out one of Neji's many video games.

'What?' Neji, more then a little freaked out now.

'You have the new version of Soul Caliber?' Gaara turned to face Neji, awe written all over his face as he looked at the game. Neji walked over to look at the cover. Dimly he remembered getting that from someone… 'How did you get this?' Gaara asked him, still marveling over the cover.

'It was a present from someone, I think…'

'Oh god, I wish I could get such presents.' Gaara moaned. 'I've been waiting for this game forever but can't find it in any store. We're playing it.'

'Um, okay. The Playstation's over in the cupboard thing…'

Gaara rushed over to the TV and opened the small cubby underneath. When he looked inside Neji ran over to him because he thought the red head was going to faint. He sort of wavered in spot then began breathily talking about Xbox, Wii, and Playstations all in one room ready to play…Neji had no idea what was going on.

Gaara hooked up the Playstation and did whatever it is people do to start the games. He grabbed two controllers and moved back to sit on the edge of Neji's bed, while Neji stood confusedly off to the side. Gaara looked up at him while he waited for the game to load and held up the second controller. 'You gonna play?'

Neji started as he was brought back to reality then nodded at the red head. He sat next to him and took the controller wondering what on earth you did with the damn things. 'Right,' he said, looking at all the buttons, 'how do you play?'

Neji thought Gaara was going to faint again. Gaara looked at him like he was just beamed down from a spacecraft. 'Do you mean to tell me,' he said, 'that you have these games and amazing systems here in your room that you don't know how to play?'

'Well, it's not like I went out and bought them. Everything here are just gifts that-'

'Are you insane?! Do you know what I would do- who I would kill to get this stuff? Man, all I have is a PS2 and DS! This shit is latest technology! I mean the Wii accessories alone…'

Neji watched Gaara as he went off on a rant. He looked so cute when he was indignant, and the kid certainly loved his games. Eventually Neji stopped listening entirely to what he was saying and just watched as Gaara got more and more out of breath but still kept yelling. Suddenly, the music for the game was heard in the far distance and Gaara's head snapped back to watch the TV.

There was some stupid story in the beginning about a princess or something and then some big bad guy showed up…Neji was lost. How did people play these things for hours? Eventually they actually got to the playing part and Neji and Gaara faced off in a fight. Gaara was playing with some ninja dude and Neji used a guy with a huge sword.

Thirteen times in a row Gaara destroyed him in only a few moves until, on the fourteenth match, Neji pressed the right button for the first time and managed to land a hit. Then Gaara killed him for revenge. Again. Eventually, Neji just started jumping up and down in one spot to infuriate the red head until they both gave up. Well, Neji complained that he sucked and managed to drag Gaara away with the promise of more games later.

Now that the game was finally turned off, Gaara was wandering around Neji's room looking at all the books, games, and DVDs he had collected over the years. Neji said that he could borrow any games he wanted and Gaara already had a pile lined up. He could keep those for all Neji cared. Eventually he came to a stop in the DVD section and grabbed one from the shelf. 'Here,' he said, tossing it to Neji on the bed, 'Let's watch this one.'

Looking at the cover, Neji saw that it was Snatch. Excellent, one of his favorite movies, and damn hilarious too. Neji agreed and set up the DVD player. When he finished and turned around he found that Gaara had set himself up on the bed, leaning against the headboard directly in line with the TV. The Hyuga was unsure of what to do. Should he sit on the bed with Gaara? Would that seem too forward? Should he just pull up a chair? But the bed would be much more comfortable…

Eventually Gaara told him to get out of the way and sit down. Neji took this as an invitation and sat on the bed next to Gaara. Not too close, but not far away, either. The red head didn't move and Neji took that as a good sign.

They watched Snatch and then Lock Stock and Three Smoking Barrels, then Gaara destroyed Neji in some more games, and they argued about music. Gaara thought that 12012 was better the Antic Café, but Neji severely disagreed. All in all, they had a great time, and while the party raged on beneath them, neither had a passing thought to go join in.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey there again! Well, new chapter. I don't have much to say about this one, except that I know Gaara may seem all emo and out of character in the beginning, but don't worry, he does not act like this often! So don't anyone get their knickers in a twist!

Oh and now I have a Beta! My first one ever, so I would just like to thank JaeFire for editing this chapter and previous ones which I will be re-posting soon! It's a huge relief!

So on to the chapter, and I hope that you guys like this one!

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Seven: Fulfilling Emptiness

--

Loneliness.

Gaara knew that it was his own fault. His choice to be alone and stay that way. He knew that, really, and he accepted it, but damn, sometimes he got lonely.

It wasn't a passing feeling; for twenty minutes he would stew in self-pity. It was an all-consuming bone-crushing, mind-raping loneliness that would never leave. It could not be scared away by drink or drugs, both of which he had tried. It drove away his sleep and all that was left of his sanity, leaving him with only an emptiness that needed to be filled. A desire for companionship, someone, anyone to want him, need him, to just fucking understand.

This was a loneliness that drove him to sit outside of the living room when Kankurou watched TV so he could hear him laugh, reaffirm that there were people in the world; he was not the only one.

Gaara hated episodes like he had with the Hyuga because at times like these, those were only thrown back in his face. What could be, but never will, what could have been but never was.

He had almost, _almost_, phoned him the other day. The Hyuga. He'd had the phone and dialed the number. All that was needed was the press of one damn button. One button that was never pressed. He had acted like a pre-teen from one of those sappy high school films, chickening out at the last moment. It only went to show how truly pathetic he was, a coward that could not even face one stupid boy.

Gaara was lying down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His lights were off and the door shut, no music, no sound, no people in the house. He was all alone in the dark, somewhere he ended up far too often.

He had woken up that morning and not moved since then. His stomach rumbled with hunger, he had a desperate need to urinate, and a headache was driving him to the brink of insanity. But still he only lay there, uncaring, able only to stew in his own thoughts like some pathetic little pubescent emo kid.

Gaara truly hated himself when he got into moods like these. Truly. He could not stand the thoughts that went through his mind, the lengths he went to be with people without having to talk to them, but especially despised the emotional mess he became.

At times like these, Gaara was hypersensitive to his emotions and the smallest thing could set him off. Before, he had put a hole through the wall, beat the shit out of Kankurou, come close to hitting Temari but never quite did it, and just broken down.

Today Gaara had gotten upset when he realized that it was Wednesday. That had been his first thought of the day and it went downhill from there. It was not that he had to go to school (which he did not end up doing), or that he had a test that day (which he did not end up writing). It was simply that that day was Wednesday, the middle of the week. Limbo day. It was a day that did not mean anything special happened, not a day that anyone particularly liked nor looked forward to, just a day. Wednesday just….existed. Like him.

That was when he could feel the beginnings of depression settling in. And in that same state was where he was. Waiting for when his father would come home, hear that he skipped the day and yell at him, wait for Temari to try and get him to have dinner with the family, wait for Kankurou's loud laughter and yelling, wait for Hyuga Neji to call. One of those would not be happening. Three guesses, the first two don't count.

Gaara was not a fool. He was many things, but a fool was not one. A friendship with the Hyuga was not going to happen; the rich boy had only given him a passing thought. He would forget about Gaara soon enough. That was okay with the redhead however. It was not like it mattered. He was used to it. He would deal with it. He could just keep lying.

Gaara rolled onto his side and glared at the wall. For a long time he stayed wrapped in darkness and loneliness, able only to think and wish and hate.

--

Neji looked sadly at the notes he had left that had gone unanswered on the desk. Damn. It had been going so well, too. He had been talking to Gaara regularly at lunch, and they had reached a stage where the redhead actually answered questions and spoke of his own free will, no need for prompting. The whole thing had put Neji in a very good mood.

But then Gaara had missed Wednesday altogether, and since then, the only thing Neji had seen of him was a brief glance in the hall between classes. The boy was not even at his usual seat in the caf. He was not leaving messages, and his home number was unlisted, so Neji could not call him. Not that he had tried. Really.

The whole deal was really putting Neji in a bad mood. He had gone and gotten so damn hopeful, only to have the redhead smash that future into tiny little bits and pieces. Now he was desperately trying to put them all back together, but someone had stolen some of the pieces. It just wouldn't work.

"The answer for number 23, Mr. Hyuga."

Neji jumped in his seat as the teacher's voice penetrated his thoughts. "The angle of the triangle is found…" he answered mechanically without looking at his notes. Twenty minutes left in Discreet, and then only a free period and Neji would go find the redhead. And today they would finally talk.

--

Having apologized to Hinata for missing lunch then searched the caf, library, gym, random classrooms, and the theatre, Neji had been driven outside. The search for his favourite redhead was quickly proving fruitless.

Eventually he arrived at the track field. Seeing as it was a fairly cold day that promised snow in the near future, the gym classes had been cooped up all day so the track was empty. Neji was about to turn back to the school and give up when he saw a flash of red on the bleachers.

Squinting, he saw the bright dash of hair that no other student had and made his way over to Gaara. The redhead had been sitting in the bleachers across the track and did not seem to be paying any attention to the approaching Hyuga.

"You know," Neji said when he reached the other boy, "hiding like this makes it really hard for me to find you."

Gaara finally looked down at him from where he had been staring upwards. "Oh," he said, "it's you."

Neji had not been expecting an exceptionally warm welcome, but this casual indifference took him aback. He'd thought that Gaara might have been at least a little bit happy to see him. But then, if he had been, why would he have been avoiding him? Neji sighed and climbed up the bleachers to sit next to the redhead who had gone back to staring at the grey sky.

A few moments of silence ensued where Neji felt distinctly uncomfortable, yet could think of nothing to say to save himself. When he could not take the silence anymore, Neji just said the first lame thing that popped into his head. "So, what's been going on the past few days?"

He cursed his stupidity the second that came out of his mouth. Now he looked needy and jealous, and he really had no reason to be, even though he was. Gaara didn't answer him, so Neji was left to think of something else to say. He had nothing, so decided to ramble a bit.

"I've been talking to myself in Math for a while, since you don't leave me notes anymore, and really, that has not been the most exciting thing in the world. Can't see how other people can stand talking to me at all—"

"What do you want, Hyuga?"

Gaara's abrupt question caught Neji by surprise. So much so that he could only summon enough brain power to reply with a very sophisticated "What?"

"What do you want?" Gaara asked again, turning to face Neji. "Why do you keep talking to me, hanging around? What do you want with me?"

"I only want to spend time with you. Should there be something else?" Neji asked, though he knew that he did in fact want more. But the redhead need never know that.

"People always want more. So what is it? Setting me up for a practical joke? Laughing about this with your buddies? Is that it?"

Neji could only sit there for a moment with his mouth hanging open, astonished that Gaara could even think that of him. Seriously, this boy had some major commitment and trust issues that he had to deal with. When he recovered the ability to think, and shortly after that to speak, he could only reply in an insulted voice, "Do you really think that I would do that to you?"

The redhead snorted in disbelief. "Oh, come on, Hyuga," he said. "What else am I to believe? That you're hanging around because you like me?"

"Well that's why I thought I was doing it," Neji said, getting angry now.

"Sure. Face it, Hyuga, guys like you don't hang around with guys like me because they like to. Look at you: you're smart, popular, rich, and not exactly hard on the eyes. Why would someone like you hang around with the biggest outcast of the school? This is just a passing fling that you'll soon get over and I would rather that happened sooner rather than later, to be honest. So stop being so pathetic and insulted by it and just…"

Gaara kept on ranting, but Neji had long stopped listening. He only watched as the redhead got himself more and more worked up, going slightly red behind his ears. The Hyuga tried to get a word in several times, but the redhead just kept talking over him. The allegations Gaara was applying to him were beginning to get pretty ridiculous, and Neji just wanted him to shut up.

"…so just leave me alone and go braid your hair or something. I don't have all day to wait on you like a slave who demands attention—"

Neji kissed him.

He had not intended to, he had just wanted to shut the boy up. But now that their lips were smashed together in an (unfortunately) chaste kiss, Neji froze. He had no idea what to do. Gaara was not moving; he seemed to be just as surprised as the Hyuga. Thoughts ran rampant through Neji's mind as he tried to figure out what to do and not focus on how deliciously soft the redhead's lips were, or how warm they felt on such a cold day.

Deciding to play it safe and not go any farther, Neji pulled away reluctantly from Gaara and looked down at his feet. "I'm not hanging around with you," he began in a shaky voice, "just to fuck around with you. I really do like you, hard as that might be to believe. I'm not the only smart one here, and believe me, you are definitely easy on the eyes. So, I don't know, if you want to still hang out or whatever…"

Neji trailed off and snuck a look at Gaara from under his eyelashes. The redhead had not moved since Neji kissed him, and he had the cutest look of confusion on his face. If Neji had not been so scared, he would have glommed him right there. But his nerves won out, and the Hyuga went back to staring at his feet.

A few moments of silence ensued during which Neji could not stop fiddling around with his hands. Clench, unclench, clench, unclench. The whole time Gaara said nothing. When the Hyuga heard the redhead begin to chuckle, it surprised him so much that he actually jumped out of his seat. Looking at the redhead who was trying to contain full-out laughter, Neji felt dread settle in his stomach. Gaara was laughing at him…

"Look," Neji mumbled, trying to keep himself from making a scene and breaking down. "If you don't want to then that's all you have to say."

Neji stood up and turned to walk away when Gaara grabbed his wrist. He had stopped laughing but mirth lingered in his eyes. He pulled on Neji's arm lightly to get the Hyuga to sit back down. When Neji was seated, Gaara let go of his wrist and cupped the sides of his face.

"You are so fucking awkward," he said quietly. Neji opened his mouth to protest, but the redhead silenced him with his own.

--

Gaara's head was spinning. He never thought that kissing could feel this good, or that he would ever be doing it. Latching on to Neji's open mouth, he thrust his tongue in to coax Neji's to join in the game. It did not take much, and soon both boys were engaged in a heady battle for dominance.

Neji tasted…like…like…there was no word for it. But whatever it was, it was damn intoxicating and with every break for air, Gaara found himself wanting more, needing more, from the Hyuga. He tried to keep his head, tried to maintain control, but once their lips first touched there was no going back.

Eventually Gaara won the battle of dominance and thoroughly explored every part of the Hyuga's mouth. Neji groaned under his ministrations, and that sound almost drove Gaara crazy. He searched for every way he could make Neji groan like that again.

Gaara tried to get closer to the Hyuga but the way they were seated on the bench, right next to each other, made this very difficult. So without breaking the kiss, Gaara stood up and shuffled in front of the Hyuga and sat down on his lap, straddling the prodigy.

Neji gave a moan of approval and his hands went right to Gaara's hips while the redhead wrapped his arms around the Hyuga's neck. Soon they had to break for air and Neji went from Gaara's lips to his neck, moving the redhead's collar out of the way to gain access to the slim column of skin.

Gaara threw his head back and bit back a groan as Neji licked and kissed every piece of skin he could reach. He gasped when the Hyuga bit his chin and bucked against him slightly. He began running his hands up and down the Hyuga's cloth covered chest while Neji roamed achingly close to the redhead's ass.

Gaara's hands found themselves back to Neji's face and he pulled the boy in for another kiss. Just as the Hyuga was caressing Gaara's lips, begging for entrance which Gaara was about to grant, they heard a bell ringing in the distance.

Both heads snapped up and suddenly, as if they were both brought out of a drug induced haze, Gaara and Neji became fully alert. Gaara took one look at the very compromising position they were in and decided to rectify it, climbing off of the Hyuga's lap and sitting next to him.

Both boys' breath came in short pants as they tried to claim it back. Silence reigned for a few moments that were surprisingly not embarrassing at all until Neji broke it. "So," he panted, "you're interested, then?"

Gaara gave him a small smile. "I just might be," he said. "Although, we probably should slow down a bit. That went kind of far for the first kiss, don't you think?"

Neji blushed a bit, but nodded. "Yeah, and we should also get to class. My uncle will kill me if he gets a call home about me skipping." He stood up and offered his hand to Gaara.

Looking at it for a moment, Gaara took it. "I suppose," he said.

Neji and Gaara began the not-nearly-long-enough walk back to the school. And as Gaara looked down at the hand that the Neji had not released, it was his turn to blush.

--


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Eight: Defining Boundries

--

Gaara sat there staring at a blank screen.

"Sabaku, get to work!"

The sound of his teacher's bellowing voice brought Gaara back to the harsh reality. He jolted slightly in his seat and turned the computer in front of him on. Media Arts was usually a class that he could easily pay attention in but today he was…distracted.

Only fifteen minutes ago he and Neji had gone separate ways to their classes, yet Gaara could still not believe it. Could not believe what he had done. He had kissed a Hyuga. Hyuuga Neji, one of the most sought-after boys in all the school, second only to the Uchiha kid. Gaara had kissed him. _Hmmm, it would appear that I am gay. Interesting. _

In actuality, Gaara had never been attracted to another person before in his life, movie star, rock singer, no one. It had not even occurred to him that he might have liked Neji before the boy kissed him. Gaara had merely assumed that he was asexual, and considering the people he had grown up with, he did not consider that a bad thing.

But when Neji had kissed him, it was like all of a sudden a thought popped into his head, _Hey, maybe this would not be so bad. _So Gaara kissed him back, went a little but further, and no, it had not been so bad at all. In fact, he already wanted to do it again. _Well, one life mystery solved today, my sexuality. Yay. _

The log in screen popped up on Gaara's computer as he further contemplated the situation he was in. Spending more time with the Hyuga certainly did not seem like a bad idea at the moment, especially if their time was spent as it was half an hour ago. But did he want to get into a relationship with him? Was he just caught up in the moment before?

No one that even knew Gaara's name would say that he was a social, friendly, or open person. In fact, those three things would probably be the last things on their mind. When one thought of Gaara, one usually saw Satan, blood, death, and just all around evil. Having been so closed off his whole life, would he be able to just jump into a relationship with someone? Someone he had only met face-to-face a week and a half ago? When Neji said that he liked him, that he wanted to be with him, it had sounded so nice that he wanted to believe it. But believing in something was not enough to make it true…

Gaara was no stranger to pain, but that did not mean he wanted to invite it into his life. And even though the Hyuga could be damn annoying, he had no real reason to wish him any, either. So why would they want to rush into something that could be so potentially painful?

Gaara sighed as he began to work on the assignment the teacher had handed out. He would have to have a talk with the Hyuga later. Forty-five minutes into their 'relationship' and he already had a headache.

--

Neji could not sit still. It was a miracle that he managed to breathe in the state he was in. After all, it was not every day that one found out their secret crush liked them back. It was enough to send even Hyuga Neji into a giggly state.

It was all Neji could do to wait for the day to end so that he could go find Gaara. Neji figured that they would go to his house, watch a movie. Maybe Neji could break out a romance flick that he had stashed in his closet. Set the mood a little…

_Focus, Neji. Still another fifteen minutes until the end of class. Keep your cool until then. _

Shaking his head, Neji cleared his mind of a certain redhead and began to work on the poem that they had been set to analyze for English. Unfortunately, the poem, Eros by Ralph Waldo Emerson, was one of a romantic theme. This got Neji's mind reeling once again and there was no stopping it until the sound of the bell many minutes later.

When Neji heard that wonderful clanging of machines, he practically jumped out of his seat and raced to the door, pushing past several people to get out first. Bounding into the hallway, he was filled with excitement and could finally go get Gaara. Now, to get him at his locker.

Where was his locker?

Neji stood in the hall looking one way and then the other, confused beyond reason. Gaara's locker is…there. There. Where?

Neji sighed at the realization that he had no idea where Gaara was at the moment and decided to go to his own locker first. He could race the halls and find his little redhead once he got his stuff.

However, the fates were smiling down on Neji that day for when he reached his locker and managed to extricate himself from the crowds, he saw that Gaara was already there, leaning casually against Neji's locker. The Hyuga did not even bother asking how Gaara knew to find him here, just shook his head and walked over.

"Hey," he said as the redhead moved to the side to make room. Neji could not help but notice that the small group of students that were behind Gaara now stood a few feet farther down the hall. He scowled inwardly, people could be so prejudiced sometimes.

Gaara took no notice of them though, so Neji left it alone. He opened his locker and grabbed the books he needed before locking up and leaning against the locker facing Gaara, mimicking his posture as he had done before. He raised an eyebrow at the oh-so-serious look that Gaara was giving him, asking the redhead a silent question.

"We need to talk," Gaara said simply.

A cold dread filled Neji as those words sunk in. Talk? What did they need to talk about? Was Gaara rethinking his decision? Did he want to back out? They had only been 'together' for an hour and a half and he was already breaking up with him?

Realizing the redhead was waiting for an answer, Neji could only swallow and nod, telling himself not to freak out and wait until they got home. _Calm down, Neji. You don't even know what he is going to say. Just breathe and be patient. _

Neji led Gaara down a series of halls to get to Hinata's locker. Predictable she was still thinking of what she needed for homework, so Neji and Gaara silently waited beside her locker. When Hinata turned to go and she saw Gaara standing with her cousin, she looked to Neji with a question on the tip of her tongue, but he just shook his head and turned down the hall. Hinata and Gaara followed him without question.

The ride to the Hyuga mansion was more silent then usual and Neji felt that he could cut the tension with a knife. Hinata looked uncomfortable and kept glancing back and forth between Neji and Gaara, while the redhead merely looked out the window with a blank stare the whole ride. Neji desperately willed the car to hurry up and get home if only so that he could get away from the suffocating atmosphere.

What seemed like hours later, Neji and Gaara found themselves standing in the front entrance to they Hyuga mansion. "We can go up to my room," Neji said in what he hoped was a steady voice. Gaara only nodded and once again Neji led the way. His nervousness only grew with every stair they climbed and by the time they reached his room, Neji felt like he was going to throw up. What the hell did Gaara want to talk about?

When they entered the room, Gaara sat on the bed and motioned for Neji to sit next to him. For a few moments there was silence and Neji did not know what to do when Gaara spoke.

"Hyuga, I am not a well-liked or nice person—"

"Gaara—"

"Just listen to me," Gaara said, looking Neji in the eye for a brief moment before resuming staring at the floor. Neji fell quiet, seeing the emotion in his eyes and knowing that this was hard for him to say.

"I am not well-liked or nice in any sense of the word. I have never had any friends, not even one, and next to no positive human interaction my whole life.

"So when you come to me and tell me that you like me, you want to be with me, just understand that that is hard for me to believe. I mean, no one has even thought that before, let alone said it."

Neji had to force himself to keep quiet, to abstain from just grabbing the broken boy before him and hugging him until everything was fixed. But he knew that it was definitely not something Gaara would appreciate, so he merely sat in silence, listening.

"It's just that…I dunno…I don't think that you're going to hurt me, not purposely, anyways. But still, there's a part of me that's unsure. Maybe you'll pull a Yashamaru on me, or one of my father's tricks."

Neji did not know who this Yashamaru guy was, or what Gaara's father did, but he filed those away for later as Gaara continued.

"I mean, I want to spend time with you, I know that, but I mean, I've only known you for what, half a week? If this is going to continue with us, the physical parts, then we have to take it slower. I'm just not ready to leap into something like this…"

As Gaara's voice trailed off, Neji could not help but smile slightly as relief flooded through his body. His little redhead was so embarrassed about that? He schooled his facial expression to neutrality before he leaned forward and grabbed one of Gaara's hands that had fallen into the redhead's lap. 'Gaara,' he said softly. The redhead continued looking at the floor. "I won't lie, I do want to be physical with you," he could feel the redhead flinch slightly beneath him, "but if you are not ready then it will wait. When you're comfortable we can move forward. We'll take this at your pace."

The redhead still looked at the ground, but his hand tightened around Neji's just a bit.

--

Neji would not jump ahead and say that he was overly happy with the result. He was happy, very happy and exceedingly relieved, that Gaara still wanted to be with him, but that he wanted to hold off on the kissing, touching, petting, stroking, licking, and everything that fell between…that was disappointing.

But still Neji would follow it. It was obvious that Gaara was not completely comfortable talking about his emotions or conveying them to Neji in any way. The way he spoke of his father earlier and the Yashamaru man clearly said that he had some issues at home but he would not talk about them. Neji knew that one day he would like to be privy to these secrets, but if Gaara wanted them to be like this for now, then that was how they would be. It would be hard though, seeing as Neji had enough problems keeping himself from jumping the poor redhead as it was.

After their conversation, Neji and Gaara had settled in to watch a movie. Of course, Neji was rather preoccupied the whole time with the redhead who was located under his arm. Neji's arm and side tingled from the contact he shared with Gaara. The smaller boy seemed unperturbed by this, yet Neji hardly remembered to breathe. Halfway through the film the Hyuga just gave up and focused on the other boy.

"Hey, Hyuga. Listen to me."

Neji flinched at the sharp poke into his side. He was getting lost in his thoughts far too often these days. Gaara was looking at him and frowning slightly, obviously trying to get his attention.

"Pay attention to me."

"Oh, someone's a little needy," Neji said teasingly, wrapping his arm tighter around the redhead's shoulder.

"No, I'm hungry," Gaara corrected. "Do we ever get any food around here?'"

Neji looked at the clock over Gaara's shoulder. Just a bit after five. "Yeah," he said. "We should be eating really soon, actually. Come on, my Uncle hates when I'm late."

Neji and Gaara clambered off the bed and made their way to the door. Neji put his hand out to grab the handle but suddenly turned to face the redhead. Gaara gave him an annoyed look for blocking the door, but turned serious at Neji's question.

"What are we going to tell Hiashi?"

Both boys stood their silently for a moment. Neji had a feeling that his uncle would be none too appreciative of his nephew's lifestyle choice, but also knew that if Gaara wanted to be open then he would be. Neji really did not like the idea of hiding his and Gaara's relationship, but when faced with the alternative of telling everyone…

Neji looked at Gaara. He could tell that the other boy was having the same crisis. There were another few moments of silence before Gaara spoke his mind. "For now," he said, "let's just keep this between us."

Neji nodded, relieved that he did not have to be the one to present the solution. In front of everyone, Gaara was only a friend, nothing more.

--

The atmosphere at the dinner table was tense, though that was nothing new. There were only five of them there, Hiashi, Neji, Gaara, Hinata, and Hinabi. Hiashi's wife who normally would be there was on a shopping trip in France as far as Neji knew, and there were no business guests, so just the family that night. Joy.

Neji was nervous that he and Gaara would somehow give themselves away, but seeing Gaara sitting there so calmly steeled his nerves somewhat. Really, there was nothing to worry about.

"So," Hiashi addressed to Gaara once the maids had finished serving them and retreated to the kitchen. "You are a new friend of Neji's? It's Gaara, isn't it?"

Neji did not want to wonder how his uncle knew Gaara's name. The man certainly had his ways.

"Yes."

Well, it would appear that Gaara was going to be fairly concise with Hiashi. Neji would have to fill in the unasked blanks his uncle wished for. "Gaara and I met at school, Uncle. He and I are both in the math and computer programs." It could not possibly hurt to make sure the old man like Neji's boyfriend.

"Ah, excellent. So you have a liking of math? Respectable." There was a sharp glance from Hiashi to Hinata at this point. The girl in question merely kept her head bowed and continued eating. Hiashi continued on with Gaara, "So you no doubt will be pursuing this endeavor?"

"No. Math is only a course I take so that I can graduate."

The roast beef paused on the way to Hiashi's mouth. "Ah," he said. "So then you will be working in computer technology?"

"No most likely not."

'Then what are you planning on doing after High School?'

"Painting."

Neji sighed. That was not a favorable response. Hiashi could be said to be very…traditional. He thought that those who sought and made a living off things like singing, acting, painting, basically all the arts, were of a less quality then those who do 'a decent day's work.' Years ago when Hinata was a girl she had voiced that being a ballerina was her dream, common of small girls. Neji had rarely seen Hiashi so angry since. The man had literally scared the dream right out of Hinata's head. Nonsense like that was not put up with in Hiashi's household.

"So," Hiashi said. Neji held his breath. "You think that you can earn a respectable living off something such frivolous work?"

Respect out the window. As long as Gaara kept quiet, he would let it go.

"I would hardly call it frivolous work."

Damn.

"True, it cannot really be called work at all, can it?" _Harsh, Hiashi, very harsh_.

Gaara swallowed a spoonful of rice. "Well, if you actually knew anything about it, then you would know just how much work it is."

Hiashi took a sip of his wine. "Yes, drawing flowers all day, terribly difficult. A respectable man does not make a living off such a thing."

"Respectable? Well, there's DaVinci, Van Gogh, Picasso, the Group of Seven, Michelangelo. I am fairly certain those men earned respect off of such frivolities."

"Yes, but they were exceedingly talented and there was more to their work then meets the eye."

"And who's to say that's not the same of my work? At least know something more then my name before you judge my life."

"Neji," Hiashi said sharply, totally ignoring Gaara's last comment. The Hyuga who had just been praying for Gaara's life snapped quickly to attention. "What do you think of this art business?"

Neji looked between Hiashi and Gaara, who both looked to him for an answer, and who both seemed to think that he would agree with them. Truthfully, Neji thought that Gaara could do whatever he wanted—painting, writing, computers, and hell, even porn if he wanted to. But unfortunately, Neji's uncle ruled his life and would not be pleased if Neji suddenly went all liberal. Neji closed his eyes; he was in a relationship with Gaara, but his uncle could make his life hell.

Gaara.

Hiashi.

Gaara.

Hiashi.

Gaara.

Hiashi.

"Well?"

Neji opened his eyes slowly. Both men were still looking to him for an answer. "I think," he began, looking into his uncle's eyes, "I think that right now art seems fine for Gaara, but he still has time to change his mind."

Hiashi paused a moment then nodded. "Very well," he said, and then went back to his meal, effectively ending the conversation.

--

Gaara did not stay much longer after dinner. He and Neji had gone back to Neji's room and talked some, before Gaara's sister called his cell phone. Apparently his father had figured out that he had a second son and that said son was not where he was supposed to be; in front of the older man getting yelled at.

'Come on,' Neji said when Gaara relayed the message, 'I'll drive you home.'

After a ten minute ride during which Gaara criticized every one of the CDs in Neji's car, they arrived at Gaara's humble abode.

Neji sighed. 'Gaara, I'm saddened by the fact that you have to make fun of me in order to come to terms with your own insecurities.'

'Oh, you wound me, Hyuga.' Gaara said in an injured voice. 'Wait; just let me write a sappy song about my feelings so I can express just how much it hurts.'

'I don't care what you say, I like Jack Johnson.'

'Oh, so am I when I'm in the mood for the same guitar chord over and over.'

'Ah, why do you have to be so mean to me?' Neji said, protruding is bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. 'Why can't you pick on someone else for a change?'

'Because that,' Gaara said with a tiny, almost invisible smile, 'would not be near as much fun.' The small smile vanished and Gaara looked unsure for a moment before he leaned in and brushed his lips against Neji's. He lingered there for a moment, almost close enough to touch, before he pulled away. 'Thanks for the ride, Hyuga. I'll see you tomorrow.'

Gaara opened his door and left the car, along with Neji who was leaning forward ever so slightly.

--

When he finally reached his room, Gaara sighed. His father had been an extra pain, curious for some reason where his son had been. Of course he had only been at work. Forgot to leave a note? Oh, apologies all around.

The red head flopped onto his bed as his mind drifted back to what Neji had said at dinner. Of course he had not told the Hyuga and had not let it show, but that remark really bothered him. In actual fact, he knew that Neji supported his choice to make a living off his art; the Hyuga had said several times that he was good enough. Still, though, something like that is tough to take.

Gaara knew that he could not do anything about it, though. He had been, after all, the one to suggest that they keep their budding relationship. If Neji suddenly started standing up to his uncle in Gaara's defense, he would suspect something. They might as well just start making out during dinner. He smirked a little at the expression on Neji's Uncle's face when he saw that, but knew it would never happen. Though it would be hilarious…

Gaara sighed again and wondered why he had gotten himself into this mess. One day and there were complications. And there would only be more as they got further involved, especially at school. Plus, what would they do for dates? It's not like he and Neji could just go to the theatre, that wouldn't be suspicious at all. And what if someone found out? Gaara had no trouble with people gossiping about him, he was way used to that. But Neji wasn't, at least not about bad stuff. Everything anyone had ever said about him was good. Prodigy, brilliant, amazingly hot. How would he deal with suddenly being called a fag, or being cast aside? Not many people could deal with that.

There was also the added trouble of Gaara being ripped apart by Neji's fan girls that followed his every step…

And yet, even as Gaara lay there reminding himself of all this, trying to scare himself out of the relationship, try to make him doubt Neji, he couldn't. Even when faced with all the millions of things that could go wrong, all the potential hurt, he still wanted to do it. Gaara wanted to be with Neji, consequences be damned.

_Well, _Gaara thought, smirking once more, _I might as well make it a fun ride. That Hyuga has no idea what he's in for. _


	9. Chapter 9

_**Read this or you could be very confused!!!! **_

Okay, so I didn't like the way that the other Chapter Nine turned out. So I decided that I would rewrite it. What happened in the other chapter, the whole Neji having a girlfriend, that is going to come into play later on, but it's not going to be quite the same situation. So basically, just ignore everything that happened in the last chapter. Sorry for the hassle, but it just wasn't sitting right. So, yeah. Hope you like this chapter more then the other one 

Oh, and there is some, er, kind of explicit 'adult situations' so if that sort of thing doesn't fly with you, then just skip over it. Just so you know.

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Nine: A Fine Grope of Awkwardness

--

'We should hang out tonight. Do you have to work?'

'Strangely enough, my boss came into first period and asked if I would take a shift tonight. Of course I couldn't say no. She went through all that trouble. So, yeah, I have to work. Damn.'

'But Gaara, don't you miss me? pout'

'No. Should I?'

'You're such a jerk, you know that?'

'See, you expect me to miss you, and then you turn around and insult me. Why would I miss that?'

'I maintain that you're a closeted masochist.'

'I would really prefer the term be "extreme tolerance", Hyuga.'

'Yeah, like I said, masochist.'

'No, no, you have it all wrong. I don't enjoy being with you, I just deal with it.'

'Denial? I'm disappointed Gaara. But ah well, it's the first stage to acceptance.'

'No, not denial, flat out refusal.'

'Denial, refusal. Practically synonymous.'

'…I hate you.'

_--_

'Hm.'

'What?'

'Nothing.'

'What, Gaara?'

'No, really, nothing...

'…but you've got a little something right around here'

'What? What is it? I – oh for god's sake, if you…'

Rustle, rustle, rustle. Mirror produced.

'Jesus Christ!'

'Calm down, Hyuga, don't throw a bloody fit.'

'Look at the size of that! What the hell am I supposed to do -'

Door opens

'Neji, go help Hinata-'

Cough 'Y-yes, Uncle?'

'Neji…is that a hickey?'

--

'Hey Hyuga -'

'Oh, we're not talking.'

'Do you think – Wait? What?'

'You heard me, _Subaku.' _

'…but you invited me to your house…'

'So that you could see how mad I am. Now you have to stay here and be my sex slave, but there will be no talking!'

'…right…why are you mad at me again?'

'…'

'Okay, I'll start guessing; tell me when I'm right. I raided your underwear drawer? Insulted your ancestors? Tried to take over Australia? Got put in prison for arson? Killed your dog? Taped us making out and put the video on YouTube -'

'You what?!'

'Australia? Yeah, it just called to me -'

'No you moron! YouTube? What the hell?!'

'Oh, that. Made it up. Now, why are you so pissed? Oh, this is about the stupid hickey thing, isn't it?'

'Stupid?! It took me forever to calm my Uncle down! I'm a _Hyuga_! I should be above such things!'

'Actually, you're below. What did you say to him anyways?'

'Er… mumble, mumble'

'What? Hyuga, what the hell did you do? Tell me!'

'I kinda…well…it was the only way, you see. I had to tell him…well. Let's just say that you should be…female?'

'YOUR GIRLFRIEND?!'

--

The doorbell rang loudly as Neji walked by. He turned towards the sound, waving off one of the butlers moving towards it, already knowing who it was. He opened the large door to the sight of Gaara standing there with snow falling all around him. If not for the splash of red hair and dark clothes, Gaara's pale skin would have camouflaged him perfectly into the background. Neji stood there for a second, just looking, hand still on the door. Gaara just stared at him blankly, dully unimpressed at the prospect of standing in the cold, helpless to the whims of the Hyuga.

'It's snowing!' Neji yelled, before slamming the door In Gaara's face.

He waited a moment before opening the door once more, a smirk on his face. Still standing there and looking even more irritated, Gaara sighed. 'Hook. Now will you let me in? It's fucking _cold _out here.'

'Well it _is _winter,' Neji pouted, moving to one side. The red head walked past him, shaking stubborn flakes of snow from his hair as he went.

They had developed a new game in the past weeks, and it bothered Neji to no end that he could not win. The Hyuga would throw out random movie quotes whenever the fancy struck him, and Gaara had to name the movie, double points for the actor. Not that anyone was keeping score. He thought for sure that the Hook one would get him, but the red head had knowledge of film almost as extensive as Neji's. One quote took him five days, but he eventually got every single one. He was really quite irritating sometimes.

Neji waited patiently as Gaara shed the superfluous amounts of winter clothing that now weighed down the butler (apparently he was still getting used to the change from desert to cold) and led the way to his room.

As soon as they were in and the door was shut, Neji turned and pinned the red head to it. Mouths moving automatically for each other, Neji pressed up against the red head, loving the feel of the other boy's body against his. Running his tongue against Gaara's lower lip, he begged the other boy for entrance into the hot cavern of bliss. Gaara arched slightly against him and gave out the smallest moan, opening his mouth for Neji. The Hyuga took the opportunity and plunged in, dominating the younger boy who offered little resistance.

As Neji's tongue ravaged and explored every corner and crevice of Gaara's mouth, his hands wandered down his sides, slipping underneath his t-shirt and lightly running over the boy's tight stomach. Gaara gasped again, his arms tightening around the Hyuga's neck. Neji broke the kiss, smirking as he heard Gaara panting for air. The younger boy looked positively sexy with lips swollen from a bruising kiss and a sour look because Neji stopped.

Leaning close and deciding that he wanted to hear more moans from the other boy, Neji attached his lips to the slim column of Gaara's neck. The other boy threw his head back against the door and gasped loudly, arching into Neji once more. In his mind, Neji was dancing with pervy delight. Gaara was usually not so responsive, today would be quite fun.

He kissed a licked his way up one side of Gaara's neck and down the other, all the while lightly drawing random patterns on Gaara's stomach and chest. The red head writhed against him, alternating moaning and panting, becoming particularly vocal when Neji brushed over a sensitive nipple. In the back of his mind, Neji thanked whatever deities existed that his Uncle was out on a business trip that weekend. His little red head wanted to scream apparently.

Distracted by the delightful little noises that Gaara was making, Neji was taken by surprise when the red head suddenly flipped position and pinned Neji against the wall. The other boy smirked at him, and Neji shivered, a shot of anticipation running through him.

Gaara leaned in and captured Neji's lips in a bruising kiss, the Hyuga's arms wrapping tight around the red head's neck, while Gaara busied himself with exploring Neji's chest under his shirt. Neji moaned deep in his throat as Gaara took control, surprised by the boy's actions. Normally he was so submissive, but now…..Neji liked this new, forward, Gaara.

The red head pulled back suddenly, and Neji had no time to be disappointed before his shirt was being pulled off his body and then was treated to the delightful sight of Gaara removing his own. Neji watched as more then more pale skin was revealed in the achingly long removal. His pants grew uncomfortably tight and Neji began to feel the desperate need for release.

Shirts thrown somewhere in the room, Gaara leaned back into the Hyuga, gasping as their heated skin made contact. He kissed the other boy once more, softer this time before turning and walking over to the Hyuga's bed.

Neji watched Gaara's ass as he walked away for a moment before his brain gave him a swift kick, and he half stumbled, half ran over to the red head looking oh-so-delicious on his bed. He crawled up to Gaara who was lounging at the head of the bed. He kissed the other boy softly, slowly caressing his tongue against the other boy's, delighting in the taste of the other boy and the knowledge that Gaara was all his to kiss and caress.

Abruptly he found himself once again at the mercy of the red head's ministrations as Gaara flipped him onto his back, leaning over the Hyuga. He lay on his side, one leg thrown over the Hyuga's, his hand lazily running up and down Neji's chest. Leaning in again, he kissed the other boy, idly running his tongue across Neji's lips. The hand on his chest strayed lower, coming to a stop at the top of Neji's jeans, his index finger resting just inside.

'N-Neji….'

Gaara pulled back and gave Neji a shy, questioning glance. Neji could see the nervous apprehension in his eyes, and knew that he held a certain amount in his own. Up to that point, they had stayed above the belt, stopping before it got too hot and heavy. By the hardness he could feel digging into his leg, and the growing heat in his own pants, Neji knew that they both wanted more. But he never would have thought that it would be Gaara initiating the next step. At that moment, however, Neji didn't care who did it, as long as he got his release.

Craning his neck forward, Neji kissed the other boy and brought his hand to Gaara's jeans button. Slowly he undid the button and zipper, dimly aware that the red head was doing the same. Letting his head fall back onto the pillow, Neji panted slightly as he reached into Gaara's pants and past his boxers, grasping the hard length. Gaara's eyes went wide and he gasped loudly, his head leaning down onto the Hyuga's chest. Experimentally he gave it a small squeeze and Gaara moaned loudly against his chest.

Gaining confidence, Neji began to move his hand slowly, up and down the length of Gaara's cock. Unsure of what exactly to do, he tried to mimic what he did on himself, moving his hand up and down the shaft, twisting a few times.

Once more distracted by the sounds that Gaara was making, Neji was caught unawares as a hand suddenly engulfed his hot shaft, squeezing lightly. The breath shot from his lungs and he arched into the new sensation. He had never felt another person's hand on his cock before, and it felt _so much _better then his own. He gasped and moaned as Gaara moved up and down the shaft, almost screaming when he flicked his thumb over the slit.

Dimly remembering that his hand still held Gaara's shaft he forced it to move. Coherent thought besides that of 'harder' and 'more' became exceedingly difficult, but he managed to keep his hand moving, building a steady pace and using Gaara's pre-cum as lubricant.

Neji lost himself in a whirlwind of sensation. He and Gaara thrust into one another's hands as their ecstasy began to peak. Thought was nonexistent, it was all that he could do to move his hand and moan wantonly. Suddenly Neji felt a heat building on his stomach, larger and larger, sending him into frenzied strokes and thrusts. Gaara made one more swipe at the slit on the head of his cock and the Hyuga was sent over the edge. He groaned Gaara's name and came onto his hand, dimly aware that Gaara was doing the same thing on his as he road out the heady pleasure of the orgasm.

Breathing heavily, Gaara flipped onto his back, spread eagle on the bed. Both of them just laid there for a moment, trying to gain back breath and thought. Neji was in a state of shock. He had touched another man's penis. He had jacked off another guy. Another person's cum was currently drying on his hand. Neji stared at the ceiling and tried to comprehend the magnitude of what just happened. He realised for the first time that this relationship he had with Gaara, it was turning out to be quite serious.

'Wow, Hyuga,' Gaara said, a little hoarse, 'that was quite a welcome.'

Neji flicked him on the ear. 'Shut up, you liked it.'

Gaara turned his head to look at the Hyuga. Neji detected the smallest of smiles, and even a blush adorning the red head's face. 'Yeah, I believe I did.' He said quietly. Neji leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips, wrapping his arms around the red head's chest and laying his head in the crook of his neck. Neji knew that the other boy was not the most eloquent person in the world. Although he didn't know all (or much of any) of the details, due to something with his family Gaara just did not communicate well with people. This physical expression of, Neji almost hated to even hope it, of love, made Neji feel a sort of giddiness rising in him. He smiled and cuddled further into the groove of Gaara's neck, fully intent on taking a nap, while the 'fan girl' side of his brain raged on. He hadn't gotten a good look at Little Gaara, but from the feel of it, he should definitely be wearing larger shoes……

Suddenly Gaara sat up and Neji was rolled over onto his back. Gaara was frowning and picking at the wetness on his pants. Neji was abruptly reminded of the stickiness on his hand and stomach. The red head looked back to Neji. 'This is no time for napping, Hyuga. What the hell do I do about this? I needed to wear these pants today.'

'Well you can borrow a pair of pants and we'll wash those ones. Get a maid.'

'Oh, yeah, okay,' Gaara said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. 'And when she sees pants covered with cum she won't be suspicious at all.'

'Ah, good point,' Neji said. He stood up and looked around for the shirt that had been thrown midst groping. 'Well, we just need a plan, then.'

Gaara lay back down on the bed. 'Yeah, I've got a few already. I was bored a while ago so I thought up how to get out of this exact situation. It's just a hobby of mine. I dunno, it's kinda strangely fulfilling. Hey! I know!'

Gaara shot up from his position, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. He turned Neji who had located his shirt and was in the process of pulling it on, seeming to have trouble finding one sleeve. 'We need to go down to the kitchen,' he said, beginning the search for his own shirt. Neji figured his out and pulled it down as far as it would go, trying to hide the stain. Giving up and not wanting to stretch his shirt, he grabbed his bag from the corner and placed it just so, trying to look nonchalant about carrying it in front of his crotch.

Looking over at Gaara he saw that the bastard was wearing one of his longer shirts and the damn thing looked made to cover. Gaara turned to look at him, eyes going straight to the bag. He shook his head. 'You are such an idiot,' then led the way out of the room.

Neji just shrugged and caught up to him, walking next to the other boy. The Hyuga looked over at him from the corner of his eye. Gaara looked completely nonchalant, as if the whole thing never happened at all. Totally unperturbed. Neji smiled slightly and looked forward again, leading the way in silence. The atmosphere between them seemed more relaxed somehow. Even though a part of him thought that they should maybe be making a bigger deal then they were about it, a bigger part knew that would only make it awkward. Eventually they would have to talk about having sex (Neji blushed furiously in his mind at the thought. Who would top?) but for some reason, it felt like they had done this every Saturday morning for years. Totally a normal occurrence, really.

Neji was confused. What should he do? Act like Gaara and pretend that nothing happened, just not mention it? Or should he try to start a conversation? If he did, how the hell would that work? Neji could picture it in his mind…

'_Hey, so, Gaara, we totally just jacked each other off…What the hell was that about?'_

…That might be a little awkward. So then…just leave it? But then they would never talk about it and it could become a bigger problem later…somehow. Neji sighed inwardly. He really would have preferred that this had no been so damn spontaneous, and then he could have planned for it. But then that would have taken away the romance…or something. They didn't even talk or anything before it. It was just enter, hand job. This could not be how a stable relationship worked. Wasn't communication necessary or something?

'Hey, guess what?' Gaara asked, leaning close to Neji and derailing his train of thought. The Hyuga looked around quickly to make sure the hall was deserted before he leaned in as well.

'What?'

'I touched your penis.'

Neji could not help but burst out laughing.

--

Gaara blinked as he walked into the kitchen. The glare coming off the impeccably clean counters and stainless steal appliances nearly blinded him. Blinking and adjusting his eyes to the almost inhuman brightness, he happily noted that the room was empty of random staff. This plan was foolproof.

He turned as Neji walked into the room without flinching once, as if he had been doing this his whole life. Belatedly, Gaara realized that he probably had, seeing as this was his house. Gaara mentally shook his head. He really was not thinking at all today.

'Hey, you wanna make a pizza for lunch?' Neji abandoned his bag and rummaged in the freezer, looking for a pizza to bake while Gaara leaned against the counter. The Hyuga really had a one-track mind when he got hungry; the fool had already forgotten why they went to the kitchen in the first place.

Gaara's mind drifted back to the events of earlier. He had not thought that anything like that would happen today, or any time soon for that matter, it had just sort of…happened. He and Neji hadn't talked about having sex or anything related to it, really. He knew that there was a good chance that it would happen eventually. They had been dating for a few months already; it was just a matter of time. But Gaara had not expected it to just _happen. _Not so spontaneously, anyways.

He really had no problem with it. In fact, he was glad that he and Neji were able to reach a new stage in their relationship, if he were to be completely honest with himself. The only thing that he had been worried about was some sort of awkwardness between him and Neji. Gaara smirked as he watched Neji frowning at the pizza box and then the oven, trying to figure out a contraption that he obviously didn't use much.

The red head knew that the other boy had been puzzling over what to do afterwards. Or more precisely, what to say. Gaara had not wanted an awkward sex talk with Neji; that would not have worked out in any way, shape, or form. But at the same time, he did not just want to leave Neji feeling confused as to Gaara's feelings; he didn't want to emotionally abandon the other boy. So the red head just said the first thing that came to mind, and that seemed to work out well. Making a big deal about it was stupid, but then, oftentimes, so was the Hyuga, so Gaara kind of expected it. Really, they had touched each other's penises. What was the big deal?

'Jesus, Hyuga, you're putting a pizza in the oven. How hard can that be?'

Neji gave him the finger then turned back to the oven, pressing random buttons and turning the dials. Gaara just stayed where he was, leaning against the counter.

Not long after the Hyuga defeated the evil oven and managed to push the right combinations of buttons. There was an exclamation of victory from the Hyuga, and he noticed his hand once more. Or rather, the stickiness on it and his pants. Gaara assumed that comprehension dawned as the Hyuga turned back to him.

'Oh yeah, the plan. So what're we doing?'

Briefly Gaara wondered why he was living his life according to the Hyuga's schedule, but he knew that in the end it was not worth fighting. 'Alright, come over here.'

Neji pushed himself away from the counter and walked over. Gaara smirked. The Hyuga was so stupid sometimes. As the long haired boy approached, Gaara grabbed his arm and hooked his leg behind his, tripping the other boy, making sure he landed somewhat softly on the hard floor.

'Gaara, what the f-'

Before the Hyuga could move and get up, Gaara sped to the kitchen, grabbed the container of milk, and 'tripped' spilling the entire jug on Neji.

The Hyuga just sat there, covered in milk, a look of complete, unadulterated, incredulous surprise on his face. His mouth opened and closed, gaping like a fish. Gaara just stood over him, smirking. Lifting the jug of juice that he had in his other hand he turned it over on his own head. Juice cascaded down his body, soaking him from head to toe. Neji only continued to look confused, even more so if possible.

'Well, well,' Gaara said, still smirking at Neji, 'look how impossibly clumsy we are. How did a tragedy like this ever happen? Now whatever shall we do? Our clothes are impossibly wet. We might just have to get them washed and take a shower. Oh dear.'

Neji continued to stare up at Gaara for a few moments before once more, comprehension dawned. Slowly, he rose to his feet, milk dripping off his body with every step. He still looked at Gaara incredulously, but with not so much confusion any more.

'Okay, so you found a way to get our clothes washed, but YOU POURED MILK ALL OVER ME?!' Neji's looked changed from incredulity to anger, looking like he was ready to punch Gaara.

The red head kept cool, leaning on one leg. 'I dunno, Hyuga,' he said, pretending to sound pensive, 'I think that's a good look for you. Matches your eyes.'

He leaned over and licked off the milk that was falling off Neji's lips. 'Mm. Tasty. C'mon, let's find a maid; I need to take a shower.'

--

'Hey, Gaara, do you believe in god?'

'Hyuga, I am god.'

'Oh, is that so? Question: if you are god, why haven't you killed off all the stupid people yet?'

'Answer: Pure, unadulterated hilarity.'

'Haha. Okay, number two: did Jesus ever hook up with Mary Magdalene?'

'He was the son of god. He got all the tail in Jerusalem.'

'Good point. Okay, if booze is so bad then why did Jesus turn water into wine? Ha!'

'Oh come on, this is an easy one. Booze is only bad for me. 'Cause when god gets drunk you get stuff like the Platypus. Or the Zebra. Poor bastards.'

'Man everyone always rips on the platypus. Alright, final question: how do they get the caramilk inside the chocolate?'

'Duh. The chocolate is grown with the caramel inside. Fool.'

'Hahahahaha. Okay, okay, you win.'

'I always do, Hyuga.'


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note:

Hey, I uploaded a re-written version of chapter nine. However, I don't think that alerts are sent out when you just replace a pre-existing chapter. So this note should send out an update alert, you huts have to go back one chappie to get it! Ten should be out in the next few days, and I hope you enjoy this version of nine more then the last!

Oh, and if you could please read the note I put at the top of the chapter, that would be great. Thanks.


	11. Chapter 11

Two t-shirts: fifty dollars

I'm such a terrible person, I know. This chapter has been almost finished for months, I just needed to actually finish the damn thing. Anyways, I know that I said I would have the chapters out more often and then just stopped, but I've pulled up my socks and the story will be continuing for sure now. So thank you to everyone who is still reading, but I can see why people would have stopped…..--'

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Ten: Illiteracy.

--

Two t-shirts: forty dollars.

Three pairs of socks: seven dollars.

Mittens: fifteen dollars.

Thermal boots: seventy-five dollars.

Sub zero down jacket: one hundred and fifty dollars.

Watching a kid from the desert get ready to brave the snow: priceless.

Neji sighed in mock-annoyance at the time it was taking for his red-headed friend to get ready. In return all he received was a hateful glare.

'Shut the fuck up, Hyuga. You wanted to see the damn movie, remember, and you owe me for my quick thinking with the milk, so no stupid jokes.'

'Yeah, yeah, I hear you' Neji conceded. That was a good move with the milk earlier.

Gaara leaned down to finish tying his boots that could have been worn on an excursion into the depths of the arctic. Neji sighed once more and instead of mocking the rather volatile boy any further, decided to busy himself with his own outdoor wear.

Looking into the hall closet, he glared at the hats lined up on the shelves, debating whether to wear one or not. Running a hand through his long (some would say superfluously so) hair, he ran through the pros and cons in his mind. It was sort of cold outside, but hats always ruined his hair one way or another. He could put it in a ponytail, but the hair bands were upstairs. He briefly glanced outside through a window. The wind had picked up since that morning, meaning that his loose hair would be blown from here to kingdom come the moment he went outside. But even that would be easier to fix then the dreaded hat hair.

Then again, with no hat, the brutal wind might give him an ear infection, and next week they were going to –

'For god's sake, Hyuga, it's an effing hat. Pick one.'

Startled, Neji turned around to find Gaara stuffing a cap of his own on his head. The Hyuga was surprised that the other boy was able to get all seventy-three layers on so quickly.

'I'll have you know,' Neji said, giving in and reaching for a warm stripy hat, 'that it is a difficult decision, what to wear.' He turned and stood perfectly straight, putting on his best mock-serious face. 'After all, I _am _a Hyuga, and therefore must look my best at all times, no matter the situation, or,' he sneered at Gaara, 'the _company_.'

Gaara just snorted and rolled his eyes. 'Whatever. Would his lordship please get the keys ready so I can get out of the cold as quickly as possible?'

Neji sighed and put the offending hat on his head as gently as possible. Retrieving the keys from his pocket, he turned and giggled at the sight of Gaara who looked like he was about to run an Olympic sprint. As he put his hand on the door, he heard a quite mutter from beside him.

'God damn I _hate _snow.'

--

Gaara hated the desk. It was daft. The silly thing just sat there all the time waiting for someone to come and dump all their crap on it, sleep on it, and misuse the thing until they were satisfied. Then it sat more and waited for another abuser to come along. Of all the things created in the universe through all of time, this desk, the very one sitting right in front of him, was by far the stupidest.

The red head folded his arms and averted his glare from the hunk of wood. Surely it was not at all healthy to be ranting to oneself about the usefulness of desks. Instead he brought his mind back to the reason for his anger. Gaara's glare deepened and he suddenly wished to still be thinking of the desk.

The day before, Sunday, he had gone to work as he usually did every Sunday. However, when he arrived he found that there had been some minor changes. Major, for him. Namely, he had been fired. Canned. Sacked. Discharged. Gotten rid of. And all because not enough people were renting books anymore. The library had been loosing money for some time, and had to make cutbacks. So because he worked with a bunch of old bats and was the only part time employee, he got cut loose. All because his generation was too stupid to find the damn library, let alone rent out a book.

And seeing as he had free time and Neji was busy with some sort of family event, Gaara had the brilliant idea to go and try to find another job. Unfortunately, he did.

He had gotten the glorious job of being a cashier at a grocery store so desperate for employees they practically hired Gaara on the spot. The fact that they were so desperate did not strike the red head as a good sign, but he needed the money, and excuse to get out of the house, so there he was receiving his very un-flattering dress shirt and clip on tie. Classy.

Gaara shifted his glare to the clock. Seven hours. Seven hours until his first training shift began. Seven hours to try and think of as many reasons as he could to not go tonight and not work at that store, but still end up going anyways. The futility of it all was threatening to drive him insane. So to distract himself he grabbed paper from his notebook and began work on a new picture, this one involving certain buildings happening to be in the middle of several natural disasters.

--

Neji quickly scanned the lunch room. The smallest crease appeared on his forehead when he saw that the red hair usually so easily visible, was not present. He had seen Gaara that morning, so he knew he was somewhere in the school. But usually the other boy would wait for him before wandering off to whatever little hovel he decided to sulk in that day.

Neji quickly intercepted Hinata as she entered the caf with her lunch in hand.

'Miss Hinata,' he said, 'would you mind if I did not eat lunch in here today?'

This scene had played through so many times, that Neji knew exactly what Hinata would say. But still, every time he did not sit with her and her friends for lunch, which was nearly every day, he would 'ask' her for permission. Inevitably, she would say, 'Of course not, cousin,' smile that little smile that made Neji wonder what went on in that shy mind of hers, and continue to the table.

Today did not disappoint.

Neji left the lunchroom, bag of food in tow, looking for Gaara. There were several places he could be, but a few were ruled out because of the cold. This left him with the library, art room, computer lab, or sitting in a hallway somewhere.

After checking the first three, Neji wandered for a few minutes, unconsciously moving towards the other boy's locker. As he rounded the corner he saw the distinctive red hair that could not be missed for miles. There was Gaara, just sitting in front of his locker, listening to music.

Neji made his way over and sat next to him, pulling out his lunch and waiting for the song to finish. He could barely hear some Mois Dix Moi floating though the headphones. That was neither a good nor a bad sign.

Neji had discovered, not very long into their relationship, that Gaara was not really one to openly share his thoughts and emotions. In fact, it was a rare occurrence that he did. So, having no other means of knowing how the boy was feeling, he began to find the answer in music.

When Gaara was in a particular mood, he tended to drift towards the music that most closely identified with that mood. When he was in a happy, go-lucky mood (the whole three times) he listened to Antic Café. When he was happy with some silliness and seriousness thrown in periodically, it was Miyavi. Anger came out mostly with Maximum the Hormone, and System of a Down. As for Elliot Smith, well, Neji got depressed being _around _him on those days.

Mois Dix Moi was a very particular mood indeed. There was some quiet contemplation thrown in, with a bit of sadness, overshadowed by a faint veil of anger just off the horizon. Of course, relative to Gaara, Neji had no idea what that meant.

The song finished and Gaara lowered his headphones, powering down his iPod.

'So,' Neji said, deciding to get the ball rolling, 'how's it going?'

'Sucky.' Gaara grabbed half of Neji's sandwich. Biting into it, he managed to look pouty doing even that.

'Awwww,' Neji said in a mock sad voice, 'does little Gaara need a hug?' He wrapped his arm around Gaara's shoulders, feeling the boy lean into him slightly. 'You wanna come over tonight?'

'Can't,' Gaara mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich. 'Have work tonight.'

That surprised Neji. 'What? But you never work on Mondays.'

He felt Gaara sigh against him. 'I know. I got fired from the library. I've got a different job now.'

Neji let that sit for a moment in his mind until he fully digested it. 'Wait, what?!' He let go of Gaara and turned to face him. 'You got fired? What the hell?'

The red head just nodded and continued making progress through the sandwich.

'Dude, you were the best worker that they had there. Why would they fire you?'

'Cut backs,' Neji barely heard Gaara mumble through a mouthful of food.

'Shitty deal. So, wait, when did this happen?'

Gaara sighed. 'Yesterday.'

'Christ, man. I leave you alone for one day and your whole fucking life changes. Where are you working now then?'

Gaara mumbled something completely unintelligible to the human ear. Neji gave the red head a little shove to the shoulder. The shorter boy frowned up at him and said a little louder, 'The grocery store by the movie theatre.'

'Oh, you mean A&-'

'No!' Gaara shouted out, covering Neji's mouth with his hand. 'You can't say that name! It will bring the evil down on you! Naming that breeding ground of wickedness is worse then naming Death himself.'

There was a moment of absolute silence in the hall. Gaara leaning in close to Neji, his hand on the Hyuga's mouth, a look of utter seriousness on his face.

Then Neji burst out laughing.

He pushed Gaara's hand away, and turned away from the red head, trying not to laugh in his face. Gaara just sighed once more and fell back against the lockers. 'You,' gasp, 'are so,' chocking laughter, 'freaking melodramatic!'

'You don't even know the half of it.' Gaara pulled his sandwich in half, staring at the peanut butter and jelly mixing together, soaking into the bread. 'Life is like running in peanut butter.' He said. 'It's tastes damn good but can be hard to get through.'

Neji just chuckled and wrapped his arm around his depressingly cute boyfriend's shoulders.

--


	12. Chapter 12

Okay! New chappie! God damn, I am such a lazy asshole. This one took me fooorrreeevvveeerrrrr.  But I actually have somewhere to go with this now, hahaha. So the chapters are gonna fly soon enough.

I hope that you like this one, I'm actually introducing some new characters for a change, ones that we all know and love! So read on and try not to hate me too much, kay? Please? Pretty please?

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Eleven: God. Damn. It.

--

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Gaara.'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Gaara.'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Gaara.'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Gaara eyed the pen next to the register.

Beep.

'Gaara.'

One quick stab. The lid was already off. By the time they noticed him going for it, the small, annoying, wretch of a man behind him would be dead.

'Gaara.'

_Ignore him. He'll stop. Just look forward, do what you're doing. Don't turn, don't answer. Just look forward. _

'Gaara.'

_Okay, turn slowly. Keep your head. Don't take the pen. Don't stab this obnoxious little person through the eye. Just nod your head and comply with his every whim. _

Gaara tried and failed to plaster a smile on to his face before turning to look at the man behind him. Wearing a ridiculously ecstatic smile considering that he had been working at the same store for over twelve years, was Gaara's new boss at the oh so glorious grocery store of doom.

'Hey, Gaara. How's it going over here?'

In response Gaara's glare just deepened and his hand inched towards the pen. _Life in prison, Life in prison, Life in prison, Life in prison. _His hand returned to his side, admonished by the mantra Gaara had going in his head.

'Okay, so from what I've seen, you've been doing great! You've got your scanning down, filling out all the forms correctly, looks good!' Insert deathly bright smile of disaster here. 'The only thing that I might need you to work on, and don't worry, it's not a big deal at all, big guy. It's just that at this company we tend to pride ourselves on customer service. We want everyone we hire to really take to this job with the spice of life! Our employees should enjoy working here and our customers should enjoy shopping here even more!'

_Life in prison. Life in prison. I'm still a minor; I might get off easy…NO! Life in prison. Life in prison._

'So what I need you to do is just be a bit friendlier with the customers, okay? You know, maybe a "hello, how are you?" type of thing. Spark up some conversation. I'll be back in a bit to see how you're doing.'

Gaara stared into the empty space where his ridiculously happy manger was for a moment before turning back to the cash register. It was almost unbelievable the difference in this job and the one at the library. There he didn't have to smile absurdly, he got long breaks when he could read, he could disappear into the back for a while and read, he could loiter between shelves and read…..

But best of all, he rarely had to deal. With. The. Fucking. Customers.

Gaara glared at the man loading his groceries onto his belt. How dare he ruin the moment of peace that Gaara got in between one painstaking customer and the next? Did this man have no decency? No honour? It would be a duel to the death then, the weapons would be chosen at dawn-

'Gaara!' A whispered shout made its way to Gaara and he turned, noticing the Manager of Death and Happiness motioning frantically to him. Gaara squinted, trying to decipher what it was this man was badly conveying to him. He was gesturing to his face and waving his arms…..he wanted Gaara to fly? There was something on his face?

"I think he wants you to smile."

Startled, Gaara jumped slightly and turned to the waiting customer he had forgotten about. Putting a hand over his heart that was racing too fast for his liking, he glared at the man smiling at him from the other side of the cash.

"Yeah, well, all the great employees do that, I guess." Gaara said, beginning to put the smiling man's groceries through. Thankfully the customer noticed that Gaara did not want to make boring small talk, and so fell silent, looking absentmindedly at the magazines on sale.

Feeling that he knew this man from somewhere, Gaara could not help but sneak looks at him, trying to pin point how he knew the stranger. Gaara thought that he would remember him easily, the long hair tied into a high ponytail, and the faded scar going across his nose. But subtle look after subtle look, and the red head still could not place the man's face.

"I work at the elementary school in town," the man said suddenly. "Perhaps that is where you know me from."

For a moment Gaara was too shocked to do anything but stare wordlessly at the apparent teacher smiling kindly at him. How had he known that Gaara was trying to place him? This man was terribly observant and could obviously read people's faces to a tee. Shaking himself, Gaara went back to the groceries and gave the man a short reply, "yeah, I think so."

It was definitely where Gaara knew him from, though. At times Gaara would walk to or from school, and the elementary school was on his way. He remembered seeing that man playing with some of the kids outside while they waited for school to start. Mystery solved, Gaara went back to the mind numbing blankness of work.

"IRUKA!!!"

Gaara physically jumped at the sudden and loud shout from not three feet away. "IRUKA!!! Can we please get this too?! I know that I already got the cookies and ramen, but I just saw it in the aisle and-"

"Naruto, Naruto," the man, apparently named Iruka, chastised the yelling boy quietly. "Don't be so loud. I'm right here, and we're in a public place. You know better then that. Now come on, go put that away, you don't need it, it's just pure sugar."

The boy opened his mouth and then shut it without saying anything, knowing from the look on the other man's face that he would not get what he wanted. His face fell into a pout and he wandered off to put away the sugary item, head hanging. Gaara watched him go, a look of incredulity on his face.

There was a small sigh. "My son, Naruto." Iruka explained. "His social graces are, um, somewhat lacking." He said with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, obviously," Gaara muttered under his breath.

He went back to the groceries that never seemed to dwindle, but again was distracted by the feeling that he knew the boy from somewhere. Bright blond hair spiked in every direction, bright orange shirt, screaming voice and eccentric behaviour….

"Yo! Gaara!"

The mysterious boy with the complete and utter lack of any semblance of tact had returned and now threatened to make the red head the newest member of the deaf community.

"How's it going? Did you skip out on math class today or something 'cause I didn't see you there today. Course, it's not like many people cared. Haha. But then you didn't argue with Sakura so she was all high and mighty the rest of the day and everyone was kissing her ass like she's some sort of fuc-"

"Naruto! Language!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry, Iruka." The blond boy muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Gaara just stood there silently, trying to figure out who this kid was. Drawing a blank at every turn, he finally just settled for, "Who the hell are you?"

The blond boy's eyes almost jumped out of his head, and his jaw the floor. "What?! Dude, we're in the same math class! I've been going to school with you since you moved to this town!!! How can you not remember me!?"

Gaara just gave him a flat stare. "Which math class? I have two."

"Ah! I'm so memorable! Just look at this face! This hair! How can you not remember me?!"

Gaara just stared for a few moments more before recognition finally dawned on him. "Oh, I know who you are." Naruto smirked, looking awfully proud of himself. "You're the kid who got the shit beaten out of him by Uchiha in your little flag pole fight."

"NANI?! How does everyone remember that?! It was, like, two years ago! If I fought him now, I would TOALLY win! And besides, he cheated, he knew that-"

"NARUTO!" Iruka interrupted once more, rubbing at his forehead, a pained look on his face. "For now I will forget that you were fighting, and with Sasuke of all people, so would you please just shut up so that we can finish here and I can yell at you at home?"

"Awww, Iruka, he started it! You know how he is, acting all stupid like he does."

"Naruto, I do not want to hear about this right now. How much did it come to Gaara?"

Gaara rattled off the total and collected the money while Naruto grumbled in the background.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So Gaara, what times does your shift end?"

--

"Master Neji, Subaku Gaara is at the door."

Neji gave the butler a curt nod and walked off to the door. Glancing at a random clock on the way, he noticed that his little red head was late. How very unlike him. He usually showed up early more then anything. Reaching the front hall and seeing Gaara standing there, frowning as usual, all other thoughts flew out of his head besides wondering how quickly he could get him out of those many clothes….

"Hey, Gaara," Neji greeted upon reaching him. He subtly brushed his hand against the other boy's, wishing that he could extend a more intimate greeting towards him.

"Hn." Neji rolled his eyes. His boyfriend was just too romantic for words. "I brought a friend to our play date," he said, gesturing off to the side.

Neji turned, noticing for the first time that there was someone looking through the front closet. "Oh?" He said, narrowing his eyes at Gaara. "And who might that be?"

Gaara walked over to the closet and cuffed the newcomer upside the head. "Quit fooling around, douche. Say hello to your benevolent host."

"Ow, Gaara, that freaking hurt! You're so mean to meeeeeeeeeee."

Neji just watched, arms crossed as the boy emerged from where he had burrowed into the closet, rubbing his head. "Oh hey!" The boy exclaimed, noticing the Hyuga. "How's it going?"

Neji just raised and eyebrow at the abruptness of the blond boy invading his home. "Gaara," he said to the red head putting his coat away. "I think that introducing us might be pertinent."

"Ah, I suppose so," Gaara said, moving to Neji's side. "Neji, this is Naruto, Naruto, Neji."

Naruto just smiled stupidly at Neji and thrust a waiting hand into the air. Neji shook it quickly, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, me too. You're Hinata's cousin, right? I know Hinata, she's in my math class. You came in one time to get her, right?"

"…Sure."

"Aw man, no one ever remembers me! Gaara didn't remember me either when I saw him at work! I'm gonna get an inferiority complex."

"I think that you have to have more of a personality before you could get a complex," Gaara chimed in.

"You know Gaara, of you keep insulting me, I'm not gonna hang out with you anymore."

"Oh, well, in that case, let me continue."

"What?!"

Neji just stared at them blankly while they kept going. To be perfectly honest, he was not exactly ecstatic to have Gaara bring someone over to his house. He had been hoping that he and Gaara would just be by themselves tonight, play some games, talk, and watch a movie, eventually lead to other….activities….

But that would be impossible to do with this Naruto looking over their shoulder. Gaara had never mentioned him before. Neji wondered how they knew each other. Why had the red head not bothered to talk about him before when they obviously got along. This in itself was strange as Gaara was not exactly a social butterfly. He kept his paranoid ruminations going until a not entirely welcome voice interrupted.

"Neji. Who is your friend?"

Neji tore himself from his thoughts and turned to see his Uncle standing behind him, probably wondering why they were gathered by the front door. "Ah, Uncle. This is Naruto…"

"Uzumaki." Said the blond boy, ceasing his insult-exchange with Gaara. Once again he thrust out a hand that was shaken briskly by the stoic Hyuga.

"Naruto Uzumaki? I have not heard you mention him before, Neji." There was a bit of a warning behind those words. Hiashi did not welcome people into his house lightly. Naruto showing up unexpectedly was almost positively not appreciated by Neji's Uncle.

'He is a friend of Gaara's," Neji said quickly, trying to establish some sort of link between them.

"Ah yes," Hiashi said with a hint of disdain, "Gaara is here as well." He looked the red head up and down. "And I see that you now work at a grocery store? How…excellent for you."

Neji groaned inwardly. Gaara was still wearing his uniform from work, company name glaring out from his formless dress shirt. Hiashi would not approve of Gaara having such a common job, Gaara would definitely not appreciate Hiashi being so disdainful, and Naruto…well, Neji could care less what Naruto thought.

"Oh yes, I'm quite lucky," Gaara said. Neji began to think about suicide as a definite possibility. It would surely be much less painful and troublesome then what would come out of Gaara's mouth next. "The store is one of the best in town. But I guess that you wouldn't know about that, you surely have servants for your servants to do your shopping. But hey, we regular people expect nothing less from an esteemed Hyuga."

_Aladdin? He uses Aladdin to insult my Uncle? Oh god, Gaara. Well, at least he's being somewhat subtle about it, kind of… not really…at all…….._

Neji opened his mouth to give the three of them a way to get upstairs, but his Uncle got there before he could.

Narrowing his eyes, and voice laced with disdain, Hiashi countered Gaara. "And mediocre part time jobs with a dead end future; we expect nothing less from an esteemed artist."

_I think it would be less painful if I over dosed. But then I would throw up everywhere, and that is just gross. But slitting my wrists would be agonizing. Maybe I'll just go piss of the Yakuza and get myself popped. _

Cutting of whatever it was that Gaara was going to say back to his Uncle, Neji decided to avert that definite destruction. "Uncle, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have some tutoring," Neji gestured to where he thought Naruto was standing behind him, "to do. So if you will please excuse us."

"Of course, Neji." Hiashi said, his voice still icy, "go and…teach them."

Barely able to keep himself from rolling his eyes, Neji pushed a very pissed off Gaara and stunned Naruto towards the stairs.

--

" I HATE your fucking Uncle!" Gaara yelled once the door to Neji's room was shut.

Neji reached out to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, but he caught a glimpse of Naruto out of the corner of his eye and quickly retracted his gesture. Instead he rubbed his face tiredly and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Hehehe…" Naruto nervously laughed from where he was standing by the door. "There seems to be a lot of tension and stuff. Kinda intense, what's up with that?"

Neji just glared at the blond boy who he had decided was the source of his recent trouble. The red head though, still fuming, vented out his frustrations. "It's because Mister _Hiashi Hyuga _hates my fucking guts and is too high and god damn mighty to be anything but an asshole bigot who refuses to acknowledge personal fucking choice. That's why."

Gaara let out an angry sigh and sat next to Neji on the bed. Once again Neji was struck with the desire to comfort his red head, but stopped himself at the sight of the third person.

Said boy, obviously seeing that there were some things that needed to be resolved laughed nervously once more. "Hehehe. So, Neji, um, is there a bathroom around here?"

Grateful at the chance to have some alone time with Gaara, even a small amount, he nodded. "The ones up here are all in bedrooms, but you can use one downstairs." Neji saw the Naruto's eyes drift towards the door by the bed. "That's a second closet," the Hyuga said, narrowing his eyes. "You can get back to the stairs? Good. Turn left at the bottom, walk down the hall, another left, eighth door on the right."

Naruto gave a dazed, confused nod before he left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door shut, Neji wrapped his arms around Gaara's shoulders and brought the other boy right up against his side. "That's not a second closet, you dirty liar," Gaara said with some humour in his voice. "I can't believe I spend my time around such an unethical person as yourself."

"Hey, you brought him over, it's my duty to get rid of him. How else am I going to do this?"

Neji brought his hand up to Gaara's chin and his lips down to meet the other boy's. Softly he moved his own lips against Gaara's, lazily stroking them with his tongue. He caressed the side of Gaara's face, revelling in the smooth skin. Neji drew back and kissed the side of the red head's mouth before pulling back fully.

"God damn it," Gaara said, irritation lacing his voice. "You are so _gay._"

He pushed Neji's shoulders until the other boy was laying flat on the bed. Half laying over him, Gaara laid his hand on his chest and sent the Hyuga an amused smirk. "And you kiss like some sentimental woman." He leaned down and roughly brought their lips together, running his tongue along Neji's lower lip, demanding entrance. The Hyuga gave it quickly, and Gaara dove in tasting every contour of the other boy's mouth. He stroked his tongue, beckoning him to play.

Neji responded and started fighting for control, pushing up against the other boy. Breathing heavily, Gaara pushed back and rubbed his hand over the Hyuga's chest, making him moan heavily when he brushed over sensitive nipples.

Desperately needing to breathe, Neji broke the kiss and smirked at Gaara, panting lightly. He thrust up against the leg that had forced its way between his own and groaned at the contact. "Does that feel like some girl to you?"

Gaara smirked and brought his wandering hand down to Neji's obvious bulge. "Hmmm, well," Gaara said playfully, "it is kinda hard to tell…"

Desperately wanting to continue but suddenly remembering that Naruto would be back eventually, pushed Gaara off him until they were sitting side by side once more. "Asshole," he said, shoving Gaara lightly.

"No, no," Gaara said, running a hand through his hair, "that would be your Uncle."

Neji sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know. But you know that he'll pick on you if you show up in that ugly uniform of yours."

"It's fucking terrible," Gaara said, picking at the cheap fabric. He sent a sly look at Neji, trailing his hands to the buttons. "Well, since it's so bad, you'd better get it off me before my reputation is ruined."

"Haha, what reputation?" Neji asked, laughing. But the offer was more tempting then he would admit. Once again he sighed heavily and moved shuffled back in order to lean against the headrest. "I would love to take off that offending garment, but Naruto, the friend that _you _invited over here's gonna be back soon."

"As if he will be able to find his way through this gigantic fucking house," Gaara said, following Neji up the bed. He place one leg on either side of the Hyuga, sitting in his lap. The red head took the other boy's hands and guided them to the white buttons that laced his uniform. At the same time, he bent down to whisper into his ear. "Fuck Naruto."

Giving in wholeheartedly, Neji grinned and attacked the buttons with renowned vigour. "Well, I would," he said, "but I would much rather fuck you instead."

Gaara grinned and ground himself against the Hyuga. "Mm. But I seem to be on top, Hyuga."

"True," said Neji, planting kisses along the red head's jaw. "But," he moved down Gaara's neck and finished with the shirt buttons. "You are incapacitated." He took Gaara's shirt and brought it down to his elbows, pinning his arms against his sides.

The red head continued to grind against Neji. "I still have my ways," he said, amusement coursing through his voice.

Neji just smirked against the curve of Gaara's throat. He sucked on the delicate, pristinely white skin and bit down lightly, determined to make a mark. Gaara let his head fall back and moaned, moving faster against Neji. The Hyuga could feel the vibrations moving through his boyfriend's throat, making him smile once more against the pale column of his throat. He quickly kissed the mark already beginning to form and placed his hands on Gaara's ass.

He lifted the boy up just enough to push him onto his back. Lying between Gaara's legs, Neji briefly kissed him, letting his tongue flick out to touch the red head's lips. "Now what, Houdini?" He asked, knowing Gaara would not be able to get out of this one.

"Oh no," Gaara said, pretending to be distressed, but giving himself away when he bit his lips and moaned deeply. "Looks like you'll," subtle roll of the hips, "ah, have to have your way with me."

Neji could not help but smile at the prospect and brought his lips back down to Gaara's hands wandering all over the slim chest bared before him.

"Now, now, what do we have here?"


	13. Chapter 13

Alright, another quick post. Don't expect this once a day thing often though, hahaha. I just really flew through this one.

Kay, so the first bit of dialogue is supposed to be disjointed. Don't worry about it, it's fine. I think.

Um, lots of emo-ness in this chapter, but I think that Gaara was due for some anyways. Made up for it a bit in the end.

Hope you enjoy it!!! XD

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Chapter Twelve: Love Stories and Perfect Endings.

--

"_This movie is so stupid."_

"_What? What's wrong with Mamma Mia? Come on Gaara, you know that you're a dancing queen at heart." _

"_Oh, you're fucking hilarious, Hyuga." _

"_I know, it's one of my many great qualities. But what's wrong with this movie?" _

"_It's like every inane romantic comedy. Stuff does not happen this way." _

"_What way is that? You fall in love with someone and get married?" _

"_No, and they didn't get married anyways. It's the mom and Pierce Brosnan."_

"_Yeah, he comes back and they get together again." _

"_Twenty-one years later."_

"_And that's stupid?"_

"_Yeah, it's stupid."_

--

"Now, what do we have here?"

The two boys locked in a lovers embrace froze, lips and hips still attached. Eyes wide open, they stared at each other without moving, Gaara very willing to jump up and leave, Neji too scared to move.

The Hyuga had not been able to place the voice, being slightly distracted by a shirtless red head underneath him. He doubted that it was his Uncle as there would have been much more shouting and broken items flying had it been. But still, the slim possibility that it was in fact Hiashi kept him looking into Gaara's eyes, praying he was hearing voices in his head, rather then facing the very unwelcome intruder.

Neji could see the fear in Gaara's eyes as well, though he was too far caught up in his own thoughts to try and decipher what was going on in the red head's mind. Slowly, he managed to at least separate their lips so they could both pant out some air, although suffocating might be better then the potential alternative.

"You know, I should have known that you were gay, Hyuga. But Gaara, well that is a surprise, dude."

Neji almost fainted in relief, his head sagging to the side of the bed next to Gaara's. He breathed out breath after heavy breath of air, relieved to finally place the voice as fucking Naruto showing up from the bathroom. His whole body melted in Gaara's, as if exhausted from the intense moment of extreme tension. The red head under him, however, stayed as stiff as he was when he first heard the voice.

"Hyuga, get up." Neji heard the panicked whisper in his ear.

Neji rose to his elbows to look at Gaara, who still seemed to be contemplating fight or flight. "Gaara, no it's just Naruto. We're good, he just had really bad timing."

"Hyuga, get off of me." The command was stronger this time, though still a little panicky.

Neji gave Gaara a confused look. Why was the red head acting like this? What was his problem all of a sudden? "Gaara, what-"

"Neji! Get the fuck off me!"

Too startled to reply, Neji rolled off of Gaara and to the side of the bed. Bemusedly, he watched as Gaara scrambled off of the bed, frantically fixing the shirt that Neji had pinned him with. "Gaara?"

Gaara finished buttoning the shirt, several out of place, and stood there, looking from side to side, running his hand through his hair, and avoiding seeing even a glimpse of Neji or Naruto. Neji stood up slowly and walked around the end of the bed, approaching Gaara slowly. He had no idea what was going through the red head's mind right now. What he did know was that this was not a normal reaction, Gaara looked to be about to have a panic attack, and the Hyuga had no idea what to do with that.

He reached out to Gaara who was still looking at anything but him. "Gaara, are you okay? It's fine you don't have to-"

"No! I have to, I have to um," Gaara looked up to Neji at that point and all Neji saw was a panicked, terrified version of his usually so collected boyfriend. "I, I have to go."

And he left.

Neji collapsed on the end of the bed, head in his hands. He barely registered Naruto asking if he was okay, then saying that he was going to go after Gaara. The Hyuga just sat there, trying desperately to figure out what the hell happened.

Fight or flight? Flight, apparently.

--

Gaara had gotten into his house, run to his room, slammed the door, dove into the sheets, and not moved a muscle since.

It was morning now and he was supposed to be at school.

Well, he had moved slightly. The bed was still there, and the blankets and pillows, just now he was sitting on them, not lying under them. There was less…association with unpleasant events with the sitting.

It was not even that the events had been unpleasant, just the way that they had ended. The abrupt and quite frankly mortifying way that they had ended.

Gaara had zero clues as to why he left the way he did, why he snubbed Neji who tried to reach out to him, or Naruto who had followed him almost the whole way to his house. He had no idea why he continued to ignore them today, the cell phone lying on the pillow next to him ringing seemingly every five minutes, the Hyuga's name dashed across the call display. There was no obvious reason why he had not gone to the door when the bell had been rung dozens of times. There was no excuse for leaving who he just knew to be Neji standing at his front door so early in the morning.

And yet, they had seemed like the only thing to do.

Once more, Gaara went over the events in his head, playing out like a movie. Neji and him on the bed, him on the Hyuga's lap, the long haired boy on him, Naruto walks in, panic sets, Gaara freaks, leaves. After that it was just a wave of emotion and confusion that he had no idea what to do with, things that he had never felt before.

He closed his eyes, trying and failing to decipher what had gone on in his mind, what was still going on at this point.

He could feel the vibrations from his phone through the mattress. The hard sound of a Gazette song playing through the air. Gaara did not have to look to know that it would be Neji once more trying to get a hold of him. He was one of the only people with the cell number, and the others who ha it would not call him anyways.

He briefly toyed with the idea of answering it, but answering the phone meant answering Neji's questions, and Gaara knew that he was just not ready to do that yet. He let the song play out, the notes of Filth in the Beauty lingering in his mind.

--

"Hyuga! You know the school rules! Go put that phone in your locker!"

Neji nodded to the teacher and left the class silently. He had been trying to get a hold of Gaara all day, calling between classes, his free period, when he thought that the teachers couldn't see him behind his books. He supposed that it was only a matter of time before someone noticed.

He wandered through the hallways for an appropriate amount of time, dialling again and again before making his way back to class. When he got to the door he forlornly put the phone away, his only loose connection to Gaara now cut. He went back to his seat and mechanically began doing his work once more, the harsh eye of the teacher close on him.

Neji had an idea why Gaara had freaked out and left. He knew that it had something to do with Naruto showing up and interrupting them fooling around. What he didn't know was why Gaara lost it like that. He had reason to be embarrassed, that was understandable, Neji himself was. But you would have thought that Gaara's father himself had walked in on them. So not knowing what was really the problem he had no idea how to solve it. Part of him said that he should leave the red head alone and let him sort things out for himself. But a larger part was too worried about his boyfriend to just keep right out of it.

Neji knew that _something _had happened to Gaara when he was little that left him more then a little bit emotionally unstable, he had seen bits of Gaara's "bad moods" here and there, and they had scared him a bit. Mostly because he had no idea the drive behind them. He didn't know how to help, and that made him feel useless, something Neji had felt rarely in his life, if ever before.

A bit of digging around had gotten him the address of Gaara's house, and he had been there this morning. But the red head either wasn't there or he was just completely ignoring him. Neji was reluctant to admit, but the latter was more likely.

Forcing himself to go back to his work, Neji sighed, knowing that he would be back at the same, perpetually closed door after school.

--

Lunch found Neji sitting at Hinata's usual table instead of out with Gaara where he should be.

"Hey! Neji!" An all too familiar voice called to him over the noise of the caf. He turned to see an energetic blond running towards him, and his glare deepened, mood sinking quickly. The blonde reached their table and sat across from Neji. Apparently he sat there with Hinata's group every day and Neji had just failed to notice him (although blatantly blocked out of his mind was more likely). "Hey, Gaara wasn't in class today, have you talked to him? He was totally freaked out last night. Maybe he stayed home today?" Naruto scanned the caf. "What do you think?"

"I think," Neji said, leaning closer and growing more and more furious and irritated with the blonde boy by the second, "that you should get the fuck away from me and keep your nose out of other people's god damn business. That's what I think."

Naruto looked at Neji for a moment, shock evident on his face, before he wisely took the Hyuga's advice and moved further down the table.

Neji knew that it wasn't Naruto's fault. If anything, he believed it to be his, letting himself and Gaara go one so long knowing that Naruto would be back in no time. Neji just needed someone to vent on, though that little outburst had not seemed to quell the anger he felt for very long.

He flipped out his phone and dialled the number long since memorized, praying that this time he would get a response. Predictably he didn't, and his mood fell once more. The Hyuga would leave a message, but Gaara didn't have his fucking voicemail activated. So instead he snapped the phone shut, angrily stuffing it into his pocket.

"N-Neji?"

Surprised by the timid voice coming from the person next to him, Neji looked over to see Hinata watching him with worried eyes. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice level and not start shouting, "yes, Miss Hinata?"

"It's G-Gaara, isn't it? W-what you're … so mad about?"

Neji just nodded, not in the situation to elaborate much further.

"Don't b-be worried, cousin." Hinata said, smiling at him softly but with traces of worry still evident in her gaze. "H-he," she blushed slightly, "he really c-cares deeply for you, I-I can tell. So, don't be worried, um, okay?"

Neji could only stare at his shockingly perceptive cousin. Strangely, he felt a little bit lighter.

--

Gaara had to leave his room eventually. It was inevitable that he would have to pee at some point. What was more unfortunate was that his hunger eventually drew him downstairs. Even more unfortunate was the fact that this was after his father had already come home from work. Worse still was it was a Tuesday so Temari would be home, meaning that there would not be even the slightest buffer should his dad notice him.

Hunger eventually outweighed fear, and after Gaara was successful in getting to the bathroom without being seen, he felt daring enough to try to reach the kitchen unnoticed.

Alas, fate is cruel and just as he was turning the corner to the salvation of an empty food room, he heard a voice beckoning him from down the hall.

With really no other choices, Gaara walked slowly towards the TV room, the sound of a taped football game from the night before blaring. His father sat on the couch, beer in hand, eyes focused on the pictures of the teams moving.

"Kankuro said that you didn't go to school today."

Gaara stayed silent, knowing that even if he tried to make up a lie it would not be believed, just dismissed. So he just stood at the doorway to the room, waiting for his father to begin a threat of some sort.

"Listen to me, I do not send you to school just so you can blow it off, you hear me? You'd better go tomorrow or there will be hell to pay. Got that?"

Gaara didn't even bother to answer or argue. His father's threats were as empty as always. He would never actually do anything but yell at his son, as everything else was just too intimate for him. His appetite suddenly gone, Gaara bypassed the kitchen, making his way to the stairs. He paused at the sound of the doorbell. The sound reverberated through his skull. Gaara turned to see his father walking to the door, opening it, desperately hoping the person he knew would be there was not.

--

Neji grumbled to himself as he drove to Gaara's house. He had meant to be there so much earlier, but his Uncle had decided it was a good day for Neji to give Hinata a complete course tutorial in Introductory Calculus. It made it worse that the girl felt so bad, knowing where Neji truly wanted to be. The notion that she knew about himself and Gaara had not even been processed properly at this point, he was so focused on talking to his red head. He was sure that later there would be many questions, but now he had more important things to do.

Pulling into Gaara's street, Neji squinted to remember which house it was… there! He parked across the street, the driveway blocked already by two cars. Turning off the ignition, Neji laid his head briefly against the steering wheel and breathed deeply, trying to prepare himself for this. He had no idea what he was going to say, he just wanted to know what was going on. That was if Gaara would even talk to him, of course…

Before he knew it, Neji was across the street and ringing the doorbell. He nervously tucked his hair behind his ears and then brought it back to frame his face while he waited, shifting from foot to foot.

After what seemed like hours, the door swung open to find a man, who he assumed was Gaara's father, standing there in a full suit, looking very irritated. The man (father?) stared at him for a moment before Neji saw recognition light in his eyes and he plastered a smile on his face.

"Hyuga Neji." He said. "Well, what an honour it is to have you at my house. Come in, what can I do for you?"

"Thank you," Neji said, trailing off.

"Oh, excuse my rudeness. I am Subaku Hideo. We met once, I believe at a dinner party of your father's, but I expect that you get introduced to so many men and women at those things that you would not remember me."

"Yes, I am sorry, but the event has slipped my mind, I am afraid."

"Quite alright, I assure you. Now what did you say that I could do for you?"

"I am actually here to talk to you son, Gaara."

Neji could see the smile falter ever so slightly before it was plastered back into place. "Gaara you say? O-of course, I will go and get him for you. Do make yourself comfortable."

Neji watched the retreating back of the man until he disappeared around a corner of the hall. He took off his shoes and looked around, advancing into the house. It was very nice, wood floor, spacious, impeccably clean, and well coloured. Neji went into the front sitting room, taking a place on one of the seemingly brand new couches.

In this room there were photos placed throughout. Inspecting the ones close and then moving to look at the ones along the walls, he noticed an abundance of family photos. All of which Gaara had been placed in the back or had just not appeared in. Naturally, Neji found this quite odd and filed it away in the back of his mind to ask Gaara later. He sat back down on the couch as he heard footsteps coming down the hall.

--

"Ah, here he is, Neji," Hideo said, producing his son like a gift to the Hyuga. A gift that he had to force to come. "I will leave you two alone," he said, sending a warning glance Gaara's way. The red head just ignored him, staring blankly at the Hyuga. Apparently, when a Hyuga showed up at your house you just did not dismiss what they had to say, regardless how much you wanted to send them away. Gaara glared at the glass doors that closed with a soft click and offered zero privacy.

"Hey," Gaara heard Neji call out to him from the couch. He turned and saw the Hyuga just sitting there, apprehension clear on his face.

"You found me," Gaara said in a resigned voice, flopping down on the couch next to the Hyuga.

"Well, you weren't hard to find. Getting to talk to you, well, that was another matter. Luckily your dad loves to kiss Hyuga ass."

"Yeah, well, at least one of us does," Gaara said, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back on the couch.

"Oh, I see how it is, you jerk," Neji said playfully. Gaara felt him give him a small shove in the shoulder. "And you left me all alone today. I had nothing to do in math but work. It was depressing."

"The sympathy is flowing," the red head said, sarcasm laden in his voice.

"Hn, thanks," Neji said dryly. "Well you left me to deal with Hinata's friends at lunch Apparently Naruto sits with them every day, eh?"

At the sound of a certain blonde's name Gaara stiffened involuntarily. Apparently there were still some issues to deal with in that department.

It did not go unnoticed by Neji. "So, do you want to talk about what happened last night, or no?" He asked the other boy softly.

Gaara just sat their silently for a few moments more before jumping out of the couch. "I can't sit in here anymore," he said. "I hate this room. Let's go upstairs."

The red head waited impatiently for Neji to get off the couch and led the way down the hall, up the stairs, down another hall, and to Gaara's room, thankfully without any interruptions.

Gaara sat on the bed while he watched Neji look around his room. He realized that it would be the first time that Neji had even been in his house, let alone his room. The Hyuga took a moment to absorb the sheer amount of books that littered every available space, and then the video games that took up the rest. Gaara knew that littered in there would be more then a few of Neji's own games, but the Hyuga had most likely not even noticed they were gone, forget recognizing them by name.

Curiosity eventually satisfied, the ridiculously long haired boy sat down next to Gaara, shuffling over so that their shoulders were touching.

"So," Neji said, breaking the silence that had infolded them. "Um, about last night…"

He left the sentence hanging and Gaara knew that in some way he was giving him an out. The red head could just shut him out, claim that he didn't want to talk about (which he certainly did not) and just never mention it again. But he knew that this was not a viable option. Grateful as he was for the opportunity, he did not want to leave Neji in the dark about it. Most likely he had scared the shit out of the Hyuga by the way he had acted, if the amount of phone calls was any indication. Gaara sighed.

"Yeah, so, um, I might have over reacted…"

"Maybe just a tad," Neji said, laughing lightly. Gaara sent him a glare. "Sorry."

"Okay, so, here's the thing." Gaara looked out the window to his right, ignoring the Hyuga for now. "I'm, um, I'm okay with this," he gestured between himself and Neji, still not looking at the other boy. "But, ah, not so much with other people. You know?"

Gaara snuck a peek at the other boy, and it was clear from his expression that he did not know where Gaara was going with his thought process. _Christ, he is thick sometimes. Do I have to spell it out for him?_

"Right," he said, eyes going back to the window. 'So, we're cool and everything. But other people knowing about us, I guess, is a bit of an issue…and I just don't like to be in that situation where, you know…I have to be like _that _in front of someone else, cause that's just a little too…open for me?"

Gaara could practically feel the other boy's eyes glaring into the back of his head. The red head knew that he was not the most coherent person when it came to expressing himself, but he hoped that Neji would get the gist from the little he had told him.

Truth be told, there was so much more to it then Gaara had said, but he did not feel comfortable revealing that to the Hyuga yet. He had decided that he would leave it a phobia of public displays of affection, a much simpler explanation. And yet, even explaining that left Gaara floundering. All he wanted he Hyuga to know was that physical affection between them was fine (amazing) but other people need not witness that.

Now if he could only open his mouth and say that…

--

Neji could only stare at his cute, socially retarded little red headed boyfriend.

A small smile formed on his face as he realized what was really going on here. His little love bunny was afraid of PDA.

The Hyuga had to keep himself from laughing with relief, as cruel as it was. He had been thinking the whole day that there was something much, much more serious then this at play. Neji was sure that there was something that lay further beneath the surface, something that Gaara was not telling him or even hinting towards, but for now, he could deal with this problem.

"It's okay Gaara," he said softly, making sure that he did not make the boy feel stupid. "You know, a lot of people do not like to display their affection in public."

The red head finally turned to look at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously," Neji said. "I mean, most people are fine with holding hands or kissing in public, but some people just don't like to do that. I know someone who won't even hug her boyfriend if they're in a crowded place."

Gaara stared into space. He looked to be trying to make sense of what Neji had just said. The Hyuga could only marvel at the complete innocence of the boy before him. He truly had no idea what had been going on. His social knowledge was slim to none, Neji knew. He wondered what it was that made Gaara end up this way. The Hyuga had inkling that it had something to do with his father, but he knew that it was more then that. How could someone grow to this age and not know about things like PDA?

His thoughts were broken up by Gaara speaking one more. "So, if I said that I didn't want to…"

"Gaara," Neji said, putting his arm around the other boy's shoulders and hugging him even closer, "you do not have to do anything you don't want to. If you don't want to kiss me in front of people, you don't have to, okay? I'm not going to force you into anything."

"Right, okay." Gaara said quietly, and Neji could see the smallest hint of a blush donning the red head's cheeks. This was obviously an embarrassing line of conversation for the other boy. Glad that they had gotten the problem resolved, Neji decided to change the topic of conversation.

"So, I see why you need to work so much. You have more freaking books then most libraries."

'Hey, don't make fun of me just 'cause you never read, Hyuga. I'm beginning to wonder if you even can."

'Of course, I read movie covers, don't I?"

"Thus the reason that you are a monosyllabic ape."

"You know, we can't all be midgets like you."

"Fuck you, Hyuga. Six inches. Six, that's all you've got on me. I'm up at least thirty IQ points. Even you should be able to tell who wins that."

"Silly Gaara, I wasn't talking about our height."

--

The next day found Gaara in math class. Unfortunately he seemed to overcome his little emotional break down and now had no plausible reason to skip out. Though really, he doubted that a truly plausible reason was never needed.

Amazingly enough, the class was almost full even this early. Usually everyone would just pile in last minute and race for their seats. He liked it that way. It left Gaara alone longer, and on good days, he got to see someone completely face plant tripping over a chair.

"So last night I was hanging out with Kiba and he told me that Shikamaru's mom totally got a face – GAARA!"

Loud Naruto approaching. Bad mood increase by 15%.

"Hey, where were you yesterday?"

23%.

"I asked around, but no one saw you."

45%.

"I even went to Neji at lunch, but he was being all bitchy and wouldn't even answer my effing questions, you know?"

55%.

"Does he ever get that way with you? I mean when you guys are…well…you know?"

93%.

"Cause, I mean, that would be a total mood kill, right -"

"Naruto."

"What?"

Gaara stood up and glared at the boy hovering around his desk right in the eyes. He could see Naruto becoming a little bit unsure of himself, backing away slightly. "Just one piece of advice," the increasingly scary red head said quietly.

Before the blonde could react, Gaara full-arm punched him right in the face. Naruto fell into a group of desks, knocking several over. Gaara stomped over to where he fell and reached down to grab a fistful of his shirt, hauling him up so they were looking eye-to-eye.

"KNOCK BEFORE YOU GO THROUGH A CLOSED DOOR YOU FUCKING MORON!!!!!"

--

"_Now here is a good romance."_

"_Eastern Promises. You think that Eastern Promises is a good example of a romantic movie?"_

_Pause. _

"_Yes, yes I do."_

"_Gaara, how in the fuck does that work?"_

"_Have you seen the movie?"_

"_Dude, I own it. We are watching it right now. Are you high or something?"_

"_No. And if you've seen it to the end, then you should know." _

"_Um, the end as in when neither of the characters get together and they part ways unhappily?"_

"_Unless there's another one I don't know about."_

"_How does that make a good love story in your twisted little mind? There's no sacrifice, no happy ending. They both just go back to the way it was in the beginning." _

"_Yeah, but, at least it's true." _


End file.
